SN ar =a2 we Serena Fer SSS SS ee pera Pee re peerage cotton et a a nes Pe fas ae no Sete ee a 4 SS LIBRARY OF THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY PRINCETON. N. J. Division...) ' Section...sske Gn OM fii I Hh coer gate een a HOGS, i Var fe] big BU) HRA) Pe hy A 40 gh ipaphegettten PEA OI Ys att aly i a) v) +e o aps a Pit iat pa Monit ih ef Vi tee i, 1 eerie tf, A o $65 if elf i, ‘ Hy Be ‘ patel fe ff es ‘ oy as Aye ey Pyarain Hf vi Ha ebb eer i ad “ el ain Senet 1 fe Uy “ wa etGee Ses fea { Pa wy pe 4 Nestea is i ‘ ‘ite San ahh Haas ae Mi ry ae vf, \Ptry ne nae , ae | ) i “at te aye Gy THE MILLENNIUM BIBLE Being a Help to Piel Ye Ol THH HOLY SCRIPTURES In Their Testimony to THE SECOND COMING OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST B ~ Me 7” WILLIAM EDWARD BIEDERWOLE 7 Z 4 ~ Aunv #exov, Ktore Inood Revelation 22.20 The Bible Text used in this work is taken from the American Standard Edition of the Revised Bible, copy- right 1901 by Thomas Nelson and Sons, and is used by permission. THE W. P. BLESSING COMPANY 208 So. Wabash Ave. Chicago, Il. Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1924 by WILLIAM EDWARD BIEDERWOLF In the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington Printed in the United States of America International Copyright Secured Right of Translation for All Countries Reserved “The Redeemer’s second appearing is the very pole- star of the Church. That it is so held forth in the New Testament is beyond dispute. Let any one do himself the justice to collect and arrange the evidence on the subject, and he will be surprised—if the study be new to him—at once at the copiousness, the variety and the conclusiveness of it.’ —Dr. Davin Brown (post-millennarian ) “Bickersteth affirms, after careful examination, that one verse in thirty of the New Testament relates to the second coming of Christ. If to these are added the numerous references in the Old Testament to the same momentous event, surpassing the allusions that are made to His first coming in the proportion of at least twenty to one, Some conception may be formed of the prominence. given in the word of God to the doctrine here advocated.” —Dnr. JAMEs H. Brooks (pre-millennarian ) “The second coming of our Lord is as well estab- lished by Scripture testimony as it 1s possible for a matter thus to be established. The testimony is thor- oughly convincing and exists in greatest abundance Indeed it is, as an eminent writer on the subject has called tt, “the very pole-star of the Church’—the star not only directing and prompting our Christian activ- ity, but the object also of our aspiration and desire.” —Dnr. Davin HEAGLE (non-millennarian ) TO THOSE EVERY WHERE WHO LOVE THE WORD and earnestly desire to know whereof it testifies concern- ing that which the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of His servant, has been pleased to call ‘‘The Blessed Hope. ’’ . THIS VOLUME OF INTERPRETATION Is Humbly Dedicated ByaW Aye Orw ME RODUG ION This volume is not designed, and will prove uninterest- ing, as mere cursory reading. It is intended the rather, as indicated on its title page, as a help to those who desire to study for themselves as to what the Scriptures really do testify concerning the important event known as the Second Coming of the Lord. The volume is neither a Pre-millennial, nor a Post- millennial, nor a Non-millennial one. It is an impartial study from the standpoint of pure exegesis of such parts of the Old and New ‘Testaments as deal with the glorious appearing of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. It has been born out of the author’s own experience and has con- sumed by far the larger part of ten years of his time in the course of its preparation. The author confesses to a ministry of twenty years with- out a single reference to the coming of the Lord. Other lines of study and his own ignorance of Scripture testimony as to the theme now under investigation furnished him with an excuse of seemingly sufficient validity, in those days, for his mental reserve as to this matter, which he has later found to be so highly important and so extremely vital. A series of doctrinal sermons were prepared and the nature of the volume demanded that the Second Coming of Christ should find a place in it. But the writer, better than anyone else, of course, knew how shallow his knowl- edge of the subject really was, and at that time was formed the determination not to speak until at least he could speak with something of an authority born out of an honest and thorough investigation of the matter at issue. The study was undertaken with no thought of commit- ting the manuscript to the printer. But as the volume of the work, its intricacy and ofttimes its perplexity began to assert themselves, there came the conviction that the charac- ter of the volume, regardless of any merit the author's own conclusions might have, would be helpful to others who were desirous of more than the usual superficial knowledge of the subject, but who might not have the necessary time for independent investigation nor the privilege of dealing in the original text of the Word. We have been encour- aged in this by a very large number of ministerial and lay friends. The work has been prepared not so much with the view of setting forth the author's own conclusions, although this, as a rule,has been done; but with the view of setting forth in popular, plain and concise style the arguments on each side of any portion ‘of Scripture bearing upon the sub- ject in hand, where difference of opinion as to its meaning exists, and thus make it possible for every interested reader to intelligently form his own conclusions as to what such Scriptures doubtless teach. | We have included in our study the ancient covenants and the promises made by Jehovah to Israel and the many prophecies concerning Israel’s future only because they are closely related in the minds of so many to the events con- nected with the coming again of our Lord. The volume has been not a little reduced from its original draft, and an endeavor has been made at all times to avoid unnecessary technicality. While the work is presented as a study and cannot therefore at times avoid being somewhat difficult because of the nature of the subject, the author has earnestly tried to keep in view a style and a content such as the average mind can with conscientious application ap- preciate. There is always great satisfaction in knowing what the various scholarly interpreters have held concerning any Scripture testimony at issue, and one’s own belief is natur- ally confirmed and strengthened when he knows how large a number of the keenest expositors stand with him in his views. For this reason we have quoted freely and referred copiously to some five hundred or more authorities through- out the work. ‘The mention and repetition of these names, if written in full, would too largely encumber the volume and we have therefore used the briefest possible abbreviation of these names. For the convenience of the student we have placed these abbreviations with the names they represent in alphabetical order at the end of the volume. Whenever the expression, ‘our text’, is used the reference is, of course, to the text employed throughout the entire work, being that of the American Revised Version, used with its accompany- ing notes through the courtesy of ‘Thomas Nelson and Sons. Some may wonder why so many verses not dealing directly with the subject in hand have been interpreted along the way. Our answer is that we have given a run- ning comment to the entire passage containing such refer- ence as may be pertinent to the subject, in order that the student may the easier understand the setting of the refer- ence in question, inasmuch as this is as a rule essential to an intelligent grasp of the subject matter under discussion. The work has been a source of keen satisfaction to the author. It has been at times difficult and laborious, but it has proven so richly remunerative that he has been already more than repaid. If now this humble effort to magnify the grace of God, so richly bestowed upon those who love His appearing, shall prove to be equally helpful to others, it will make him doubly grateful for the rare opportunity and the high privilege of giving himself to so sacred a task and for His precious approval, thus attested, we earnestly pray as this volume is released to those who may find com- fort and inspiration in its study. WILLIAM EDWARD BIEDERWOLEF. e THE NAMES OF THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT BOOKS ARRANGED IN THEIR CUSTOMARY ORDER THE BOOKS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT GENESIS I. Kings Eeclesiastes Obadiah Exodus II. Kings Song of Solomon Jonah Leviticus I. Chronicles Tsaiah Micah Numbers Il. Chronicles Jeremiah Nahum Deuteronomy Ezra Lamentations Habakkuk Joshua Nehemiah Ezekiel Zephaniah Judges Esther Daniel 3 Ruth Job Hosea Haggai I. Samuel Psalms Joel Zechariah II, Samuel Proverbs Amos Malachi THE BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT ST. MATTHEW St. Mark St. Luke St. John The Acts Romans I. Corinthians IT. Corinthians Galatians Ephesians Philippians Colossians I. Thessalonians II. Thessalonians I. Timothy II. Timothy Titus Philemon Hebrews James I. Peter IL. Peter I. John I. John TEE John Jude Revelation NAMES OF THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT BOOKS ACTS Amos Chronicles (I.) Chronicles (II.) Colossians Corinthians (1.) Corinthians (II.) Daniel Deuteronomy Ecclesiastes Ephesians Esther Exodus Ezekiel Ezra Galatians Genesis ALPHABETICALLY ARRANGED Habakkuk Haggai Hebrews Hosea Isaiah James Jeremiah Job Joel John John (1.) John (II.) John (III.) Jonah Joshua Jude Judges Kings (1.) Kings (II.) Lamentations Leviticus Luke Malachi Mark Matthew Mieah Nahum Nehemiah Numbers Obadiah Peter (1I.) Peter (II.) Philemon Philippians Proverbs Psalms Revelation ‘Romans Ruth Samuel (I.) Samuel (II.) Song of Solomon Thessalonians (I.) Thessalonians (II.) Timothy (I.) Timothy (IT.) Titus Zechariah Zephaniah Vers, 1-3. irik BOOK Ob GENESIS (< B. C. 1689) CHAPTER TWELVE Now Jehovah said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto the land that I will show thee: 2 and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and be thou a bless- ing: 3 and I will bless them that bless thee, and him that curseth thee will I curse: and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed. THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT FORMED. “T will bless them that bless thee, and him that curseth thee will I curse.’ “This seems to have been wonderfully fulfilled in the history of the dispersion. It has invariably fared ill with the people who have perse- cuted the Jews, and the favor of God seems to have been with those who have given the Jews protection. Will the future still more remarkably pale this prediction? (Deut. 30.7; Isa. 14.1,2; Joel 3.1-8; Matt. 25.40, 45.) CMoarre Re DARL EEIN 14 And Jehovah said unto Abram, earth: so that if a man can number after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art, north- ward and southward and _ eastward and westward: 15 for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. 16 And I will make thy seed as the dust of the the dust of the earth, then may thy seed also be numbered. 17 Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it: for unto thee will I give it. 18 And Abram moved his tent, and came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built there an altar unto Jehovah. Vers. 14-18. “THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT CONFIRMED. Ver. 15. “for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever.’”’ Does the latter part of this promise pertain to Abra- ham’s literal seed or to his spiritual seed? Says Keil, ‘““The possession of the land is promised forever. “The promise of God is unchangeable. As the seed of Abraham was to exist before God forever, so Canaan was to be its everlasting possession. But this applied not to the lineal posterity of Abraham, to his seed according to the flesh, but to the true spiritual seed, which embraced the promise in faith and held it in pure, believing heart. The promise therefore neither prevented the expulsion of the unbelieving seed from the land of Canaan, nor guaranteed to existing Jews a return to the earthly Palestine after their conversion to Christ.”’ Scofield, on the other hand, remarks, ‘The gift of the land is modified by prophecies of three dispossessions and restorations (Gen. 15.13, 14, 16; 9 GENESIS Jer. 25.11,12; Deut. 28.62-65; 30.1-3). “Two dispossessions and restor- ations have been accomplished. Israel is now in the third dispersion, from which she, the literal seed of Abraham, will be restored to Palestine at the Second Coming of the Lord as King under the Davidic Covenant (Deut. 33.3% Jer; 23,528" Ezk, 37:21-25 ul 0-3 see ctsel eet ee Ver. 16. “J will make thy seed as the dust of the earth’’,—To Abram, accustomed to the petty tribes that then roamed over the pastures of Mesopatamia and Palestine, a people who should fill the land of Canaan would seem innumerable. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO 15 And the angel of Jehovah called unto Abraham a second time out of heaven, 16 and said, By myself have I sworn, saith Jehovah, because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, 17 that in blessing I will bless thee, and in mul- tiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heavens, and as the sand which is upon the sea-shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his ene- mies; 18 and in thy seed shall all the . nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice. Vers. 15-18. THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT AGAIN CONFIRMED. Ver. 17. “thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies’’,—1. e., be masters and rulers of their cities and territories. (K. Mu.) Lange says, ‘‘But the gate here points to a deeper meaning. The hostile world has a gate or gates in its susceptibilities through which the believing Israel should enter (Ps. 24.7-9), and the following words prove that this is the sense here.”’ Ver. 18. “and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed’’,—This great promise was first given without reference to his character (Chap. 12.3) ; now it is confirmed to him because he has proven himself to be actually righteous after the inward man. Campbell Morgan says, ‘“This prophecy has never been realized, except to some extent in the first advent of Christ, but it awaits complete and very literal fulfillment in the Millennium age. All Gentile nations are to come into a place of blessing as a result of this restored nationality of Israel. The same truth is taught in Isa. 56.6,7.” “The conquests of the seed of Abraham’’, says Gerlach, ‘‘are those of the Christian Church’’, and, says Jacobus, ‘‘the multiplying of the seed looks beyond mere natural posterity to spiritual progeny’. Again it is a question of literal or spiritual fulfillment. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR By many Isaac is taken as a type of the Bridegroom (Christ) who goes out to meet and receive His Bride (verse 63 and I Thess. 4.14-16), the Church; and the servant is a type of the Spirit bringing the Bride to the meeting with the Bridegroom. (I Thess. 4.14-16.) 10 LEVITICUS CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX 3 sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father; 4 and I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these lands; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; 23 And he went up from thence to Beer-Sheba. 24 And Jehovah appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father; fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake. Vers. 3, 4, 23, 24. THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT CONFIRMED TO ISAAC. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT 13 And, behold, Jehovah stood labove it, and said, I am Jehovah, the God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; 14 and thy seed shall be as the 10r, beside him. dust of the earth, and thou shalt 2spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south; and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. 2Heb., dreak forth. Vers. 13, 14. THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT CONFIRMED TO JACOB. CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE mighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins; 12 and the land which I gave unto Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land. Vers. 9-12. THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT CONFIRMED AGAIN TO JACOB. 9 And God appeared unto Jacob again, when he came from Paddanaram, and blessed him. 10 And God said unto him, Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and he called his name Israel. 11 And God said unto him, I am God Al- HE SBOOK OR LEVITICUS CD pon ) CHAPTER TWO 11 No meal-offering, which ye shall offer unto Jehovah, shall be made with leaven; for ye shall burn no leaven, Ver. 11. LEAVEN, THE APT SYMBOL OF CORRUPTION. nor any honey, as an offering made by fire unto Jehovah. Some think the reason why leaven and honey were excluded from the offerings unto the Lord is that they were used in the idolatrous rites al PEM I@Gs of the heathen. ‘The chief, and perhaps the sole reason, however, is un- doubtedly their fermenting quality. Honey was anciently used in the preparation of vinegar. Fermentation has ever been recognized as ‘‘an apt symbol of the working of corruption in the human heart,’ as Adam Clark says, both in Scripture (Lu. 12.1; I Cor. 5.8; Gal. 5.9), and among the ancients generally, and hence was unsuitable for the altar of Jehovah. The leavened bread of Chap. 7.13 was simply used for the sacrificial meal and was not placed upon the altar at all, and so there is no conflict there with the prohibition of our verse and of Ex. 23.18 and 34.25. Leavened bread was common at feasts and was offered with the peace-offer- ing besides the usual accompaniments of the other sacrifices. Christ is our peace-offering, and in Chap. 7.12 we have this in type, and so leaven is of course excluded, as in Him there is no sin; but in verse 13 of this same chapter the one bringing the peace-offering is giving thanks for his partici- pation in it, and so may it not be that leaven seems here to fitly signify, that though having peace with God through the work of the Sinless One, there is still sin in him who presents the offering. (Amos. 4.5.) CHAPTER SIXTEEN 18 And he shall go out unto the altar that is before Jehovah, and make atonement for it. Ver. 18. “THE COMING FROM THE HEAVENLY SANCTUARY SET FORTH IN TYPE. This verse, and in fact the whole chapter, should be read in connec- tion with Hebrews 9. Scofield says, ‘‘Dispensationally, for Israel, this is yet neue the High Priest is still in the Holiest. When He comes out to His ancient people they will be converted and restored (Rom. 11.23-27; Zech. 12.10, 12; 13.1; Rev. 1.7). Meantime, believers of this dispensation, as priests (I Pet. 2.9), enter into the holiest where He is (Heb. 10.19-22). It will be at His second coming that He will come forth, the Great High Priest returning unto His people as Lord of lords and King of kings.”’ CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE 34 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, On the fifteenth day of this seventh month is the feast of *taber- nacles for seven days unto Jehovah. 1Heb., dooths Ver. 34. “THE KINGDOM-SABBATH SET FORTH IN TYPE. Just as the Lord’s Supper for the Church is both memorial and pro- phetic (‘‘in remembrance of me,’ and “‘ye do show forth the Lord’s death until He come’’), so likewise is the feast of tabernacles a memorial as to redemption of Israel out of Egypt (verse 43), and, says Scofield, “‘it is prophetic as to the kingdom- rest of Israel after her regathering and restor- ation, when the feast again becomes memorial, not for Israel alone, but for all nations (Zech. 14.16-21).” 72 LEVITICUS CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX Vers. 14-39. THE CURSE FOR APOSTACY AND CONTEMPT OF THE LAW. The divine threats contained in this chapter embrace the whole of Israel's history. They are not to be thought of as in historical or tem- poral succession; they were not to multiply continuously, but were in each case to correspond to the amount of the sin. apostacy of the nation and not the sins of individuals. The subject is the general “There are five degrees,’ says Gerlach, ‘‘in the ever seven times more severe punishment.”’ 14 But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these command- ments; 15 and if ye shall reject my statutes, and if your soul abhor mine ordinances, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but break my cove- nant; 16 I also will do this unto you: I will appoint terror over you, even Vers. 14-17. consumption and fever, that shall con- sume the eyes, and make the soul to pine away; and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. 17 And I. will set my face against you, and ye shall be smitten before your ene- mies; they that hate you shall rule over you; and ye shall flee when none pur- sueth you. ‘THE PUNISHMENT IN THE FIRST DEGREE. If Israel gave herself. up to ungodliness, then Jehovah would appoint over them “‘terror,’’ a general notion particularized in verses 16 and 17 by disease, famine and defeat. 18 And if ye will not yet for these things hearken unto me, then I will chastise you seven times more for your sins. 19 And I will break the pride of your power: and I will make your Vers. 18-20. heaven as iron, and your earth as brass; 20 and your strength shall be spent in vain; for your land shall not yield its increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruit. THE PUNISHMENT IN THE SECOND DEGREE. If the punishments already mentioned did not cause the nation to keep the statutes of the Lord, then they would be punished still more severely, even with a sevenfold measure. “‘seven times’’,—Seven is at once the number of. perfection, indicat- ing the full strength of the visitation, and also the Sabbatical number, reminding the people of the broken covenant. In the verses before us the sevenfold punishment consists in the bar- - renness of the land. The earth was to be hard and dry as metal and not a drop of rain was to fall from heaven to moisten it. 21 And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me, I will bring seven times more plagues up- I will send the beast of the field among you, which shall rob you of your chil- dren, and destroy your cattle, and make vou few in number; and your ways on you according to your sins. 22 And shall become desolate. Vers: 71-272. By beasts of prey Jehovah would destroy their cattle and by barren- ness the nation would become small so that the highways would be deserted. “This is an exact picture of the present state of the Holy Land,” says Jamieson, ‘‘which has long lain in a state of desolation, brought on by the sins of the ancient Jews.’ (See Isa. 33.8 and Zeph. 3.6.) 13 THE PUNISHMENT IN THE THIRD DEGREE. LEVITICUS 23 And if by these things ye will not ered together within your cities: and | be reformed *unto me, but will walk will send the pestilence among you; and contrary unto me; 24 then will I also ye shall be delivered into the hand of walk contrary unto you; and [| will the enemy. 26 When I break your smite you, even I, seven times for your staff of bread, ten women shall bake sins. 25 And [ will bring a sword up- your bread in one oven, and they shall on you, that shall execute the vengeance deliver your bread again by weight: and of the covenant; and ye shall be gath- ye shall eat, and not be satisfied. 1Or, by Vers. 23-26. “THE PUNISHMENT IN THE FOURTH DEGREE. If they still rose up in hostility to the Lord they were to be punished sevenfold with war, plague, and hunger. By “‘the vengeance of the covenant’”’ is meant the punishment inflicted for a breach of the same, the severity of which, says Keil, “corresponded to the greatness of the covenant blessings forfeited by a faithless apostacy.”’ The means of sustenance would become so scarce that ten women could bake their bread in a single oven, whereas in ordinary times every woman required an oven for her self. 27 And if ye will not for all this abhor you. 31 And J will make your hearken unto me, but walk contrary un- cities a waste, and will bring your sanc- to me; 28 then I will walk contrary tuaries unto desolation, and I will not unto you in wrath; and J also will chas- smell the savor of your sweet odors. tise you seven times for your sins. 29 32 And [ will bring the land into deso- And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, lation; and your enemies that dwell and the flesh of your daughters shall ye therein shall be astonished at it. 33 And eat. 30 And I will destroy your high you will I scatter among the nations, places, and cut down your sun-images, and I will draw out the sword after and cast your dead bodies upon the you: and your land shall be a desola- bodies of your idols; and my soul shall tion, and your cities shall be a waste. Vers. 27-33. “THE PUNISHMENT IN THE FIFTH AND SEVEREST DEGREE. Verse 29 refers to a fact which literally occurred in Samaria during the period of the Syrians (II Kings 6.28,29), and in Jerusalem during the time of the Chaldeans (Lam. 2.20; 4.10), and in the most appalling manner during the siege of Jerusalem by Titus in A. D. 70. The judgment is then more minutely described in four leading feat- ures: the idolatrous abominations were to be overthrown (verse 30), the towns and sanctuaries were to be destroyed (verse 31), the land was to be devastated (verse 32), and the people were to be dispersed among the heathen (verse 33). The cities of Israel were made waste (verse 31) by the forced removal . of the people during and long after the captivity. It is realized to even a far greater extent now. Jehovah, in verse 33, says He will draw out a sword after them; i. e., He will drive them away with a drawn sword, and scatter them to all the winds of heaven. For the story of these deportations look at Jewish history all the way from Alexander to Hadrian. 34 Then shall the land enjoy its sab- had not in your sabbaths, when ye baths, as long as it lieth desolate, and dwelt upon it. 36 And as for them that ye are in your enemies’ land; even then are left of you, I will send a faintness shall the land rest, and enjoy its sab- into their heart in the lands of their baths. 35 As long as it lieth desolate it enemies; and the sound of a driven leaf shall have rest, even the rest which it shall chase them; and they shall flee, as 14 NUMBERS one fleeth from the sword; and they shall fall when none pursueth. 37 And they shall stumble one upon another, as it were before the sword, when none pursueth; and ye shall have no power ye shall perish among the nations, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up. 39 And they that are left of you shall pine away in their iniquity in your enemies’ lands; and also in the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away with them. to stand before your enemies. 38 And Vers. 34-39. “THE ERRECT OR THESE PUNITIVE VISITATIONS. Verses 34 and 35 express the restorative effect upon the land. It would enjoy the sabbaths of which it had been deprived by the avarice and apostacy of the people—weekly and yearly. It would be allowed por to rest throughout the duration of the captivity, seventy years, in act. Verses 36 and 39 describe in fearful terms the effect upon the remnant who should escape immediate destruction. (See Num. 13.32 and Ezek. 36,15.) | 40 And they shall confess their in- iquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, in their trespass which they trespassed against me, and also that, because they walked contrary’ unto me, 41 I also walked contrary unto them, and brought them into the land of their enemies: if then their uncircumcised heart be hum- bled, and they then accept of the punish- ment of their iniquity; 42 then will I remember my covenant with Jacob; and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I re- member; and I will remember the land. 43 The land also shall be left by them, and shall enjoy its sabbaths, while it lieth desolate without them; and they shall accept of the punishment of their iniquity; because, even because they re- jected mine ordinances, and their soul abhorred my statutes. 44 And yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my cove- nant with them; for I am Jehovah their God; +5 but I will for their sakes re- member the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God: I am Jehovah. 46 These are the statutes and ordi- nances and laws, which Jehovah made between him and the children of Israel in mount Sinai by Moses. Vers. 40-46. THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT STILL ENDURES. Upon repentance and obedience He would renew again this Covenant and gather them again out of the heathen and adopt them as His nation. THE BOOK OF NUMBERS (B. C. 1490—B. C. 1451) CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR Balaam the son of Beor saith, 14 And now, behold, I go unto my And the man whose eye * was closed people: come, and I will advertise thee what this people shall do to thy people saith; in the latter days. 16 He saith, who heareth the words of 15 And he took up his parable, and God, said, 1Or, is opened 15 NUMBERS And knoweth the knowledge of the Most High, Who seeth the vision of the Almighty, Falling down, and having his eyes open: 17 I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not nigh: There shall come forth a star out of Jacob, And a scepter shall rise out of Israel, And shall smite through the corners of Moab, And break down all the sons of Seir also shall be a possession, who Were his enemies; While Israel doeth valiantly. 19 And out of Jacob shall one have ~ dominion, And shall destroy the remnant from the city. 23 And he took up his parable and said, Alas, who shall live when God doeth this? . 24 But ships shall come from the coast of Kittim, And they shall afflict Asshur, and tumult. shall afflict Eber; 18 And Edom shall be a possession, And he also shall come to destruction. Vers. 14-19. “THE VICTORIOUS SUPREMACY OF ISRAEL’S MESSIANIC DAyYs FORETOLD. Balaam’s fourth prophecy is distinguished from the previous ones by the fact that according to verse 14 it is occupied exclusively with the future and foretells the victorious supremacy of Israel over all her foes and the destruction of all the powers of the world. The Jews always held that this prophecy received its preliminary fulfillment in David but that it pointed farther on to the Messiah in whom Oa eee was to reach perfection and who was to destroy all the enemies of Israel. Ver. 17. The prophecy commences with a picture from “‘the latter days’ (verse 14), which rises up before the mental eye of the seer. Says Gosman, “ ‘The latter days’ for Moses and Balaam could only be when the strifes and hindrances should be removed, the enemies overcome. “These days for them began with the line of David. The prophecy then received its preliminary and partial fulfillment. But that fulfillment was only relatively perfect, since the entire opposing powers to the people of God were not yet destroyed. ‘There remained yet a future and a wider fulfill- ment. The ‘latter days’ were not yet complete.”’ “T see’’,—A prophetic insight like that of Abraham. “him’,—We think Jamieson is wrong in referring this pronoun to Israel. “The sentence extends rather in its typical significance to the time of the kings of Israel, but still farther on to the time of the ideal king. “but not now’’,—1. e., not as having already appeared. “but not nigh’’,—i. e., not to appear immediately, but to come forth out of Israel in the far distant future. “a stat out of Jacob’’,—This refers, says Jamieson, primarily to David, but secondarily and pre-eminently to the Messiah. “If there could be any doubt,”’ says Keil, “‘that the rising star repre- sented the appearance of a glorious ruler or king, this doubt would be entirely removed by the parallel, ‘a sceptre shall arise out of Israel’.”’ “This ruler would destroy all the enemies of Israel. “‘corners of Moab’’,—This expression is equivalent to the two sides of Moab, i. e., Moab from one end to the other. It is an expression that is often put for the whole country. 16 NUMBERS “all the sons of tumult’’,—i. e., those rising up tumultuously against Israel, like the Moabites who were men of wild, warlike confusion. _ Ver. 18. Edom and Seir are to be taken by this ruler who is to arise. They were to become his possession, and Israel’s through him, by reason of which possession Israel shall become empowered and do valiantly. Edom is the name of the people and Seir the name of the country. The fulfill- ment of this prophecy began with the subjugation of the Edomites by David, but it will not be completed until the “latter days,’’ when all the enemies of God and his Church will be made the footstool of Christ. Keil remarks, ‘‘Edom, as the leading foe of the kingdom of God, will only be’ utterly destroyed when the victory of the latter over the hostile powers of the world has been fully and finally secured.” Ver. 19. The subject of this verse is indefinite and is to be supplied from the verb, but it is quite evident from the sense of the words that we have to think of the ruler foretold as a star and a sceptre. “the remnant from the city’’,—Out of every city in which there is left a remnant of Edom it shall be destroyed. Jamieson thinks the refer- ence is to those who flee from the fields to the fortified cities, but we prefer, with Lange, to think of the fugitives fleeing from the captured cities. “The explanation of Ewald which refers the city to Jerusalem is forced and cannot be sustained from the parallelism. ' The prophecy closes with single sentences foretelling the general de- struction of all heathen powers. Ver. 23. This is the fourth division of the prophecy, all introduced by the words, “‘he took up his parable’, the first relating to Edom and Moab (verses 17-19), the second to Amalek, the arch enemy of Israel (verse 20), the third to the Kenites, who were allied to Israel (verses 21, 22); while in the fourth (verses 23,24) the overthrow of the great powers of the world is predicted. “when God doeth this?’’—Keil regards the lamentation as introduc- tory to the prophecy concerning Asshur (Assyria), Balaam’s own people. Lange and Knoble, however, with perhaps better reason, think that Balaam is still bewailing the future of Israel and explain this particular expression as meaning, ‘‘when God appoints, establishes (see margin) Asshur to do this’, i. e., to so afflict Israel. This disjunctive particle ‘“‘But’’ in verse 24, and that the fact that the judgment upon the naval power from Chittim is not introduced with a:new parable, favor the latter view. Ver. 24. At last the universal ruin of the nations of the world appears in the vision. The nations that were to come to humble Assyria are not mentioned by name because this lay beyond the range of the prophet’s vision, but the reference is without doubt to the Greek and the Roman empires. “and he also shall come to destruction’’,—The reference is not to Asshur and Eber, but to their conquerors. ‘Whatever powers might rise up in the world of peoples,’’ says Hof- mann, ‘‘the heathen prophet of Jehovah sees them all fall, one through another, and one after another; but at last he loses in the distance the power to discern whence it is that the last which he sees rise up is to receive its fatal blow.” LZ DEUTERONOMY “The overthrow of this last power of the world, concerning which the prophet Daniel was the first to receive and proclaim new revelations,” says Keil, ‘‘belongs to ‘the end of the days’ in which the star out of Jacob is to arise upon Israel as a ‘bright morning star’ (Rev. 22.16), and by the ‘end of the days’, both here and everywhere else, we are to understand the Messianic era, and that not merely at its commencement, but in its entire development, until the final completion of the kingdom of God at the return of our Lord to judgment.” DHE BOOKOR DEUTERONOMY (BAGS RASTS) CHAPTER FOUR 26 I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land where- unto ye go over the Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed. 27 And Jehovah will scatter you among the peoples, and ye shall be left few in number among the nations, whither Jehovah shall lead you away. 28 And there ye shall serve gods, the work of neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell. 29 But from thence ye shall seek Je- hovah thy God, and thou shalt find him, when thou searchest after him with all thy heart and with all thy soul. 30 When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee,” in the latter days thou shalt return to Jehovah thy God, and hearken unto his voice: 31 for Jehovah thy God is a merciful God; he will not fail thee, neither de- stroy thee, nor forget the covenant of men’s hands, wood and stone, which thy fathers which he sware unto them. 1Or, if in the latter days thou return Vers. 26-31. “THE FUTURE DISPERSIONS OF ISRAEL FORETOLD. Ver. 26. The dispersion was of course conditioned on their own forgetfulness of God. “heaven and earth’’,—These are hardly to be taken as the rational beings dwelling in them, but they are the rather personified and repre- sented as capable of thought and speech. It was and is a solemn and common form of adjuration. They were to be witness, to rise up against Israel, not to proclaim vengeance but to bear witness that God was just in punishing them, because He had warned them and had set before them the choice of life and death. Ver. 27. For the thing intended see Lev. 26.33,36,38,39; and Deut. 28.64. From these passages it is evident that the author had.in mind not any particular dispersion; not, “‘the fate of the nation in the time of the Assyrians,’’ as Knobel says; but rather, as Keil says, “‘all the dispersions which would come upon the rebellious nation in future times, even down to the dispersion under the Romans which still continues; so that Moses contemplated the punishment in its fullest extent.” “and ye shall be left few in number among the nations.’,—This is hardly ‘‘few’’ as compared with the number of the heathen, as Schroeder 18 DEUTERONOMY says, but rather, as Keil says, “because they should'so far perish through want, persecution and suffering.” The word scatter here is in a form that denotes a driving, urgent pressure. Ver. .29. Ver. 30. “tn the latter days thou shalt return to Jehovah’’,—Says Schroeder, ‘‘In the kingdom of God last times are ever times of need. The expression has, indeed, a more or less Messianic form.”’ The literal of the expression is, ‘‘at the end of the days,’’ and does not therefore refer merely to some future time, but the rather to the end in contrast with the beginning; hence not the future generally, but the last future (Hen.), the Messianic age of consummation. (II Pet. 3.3; Heb. 1.2; Acts 2.17; II Tim. 3.1.) The main reference therefore is to the age of the Messiah, which is commonly called “the latter days’, when the scattered tribes of Israel shall be converted to the Gospel of Christ. This does not mean, however, that a preliminary fulfillment is not to be found in the destined close of their captivities. Wee ee SHI Him. “the covenant of thy fathers’’,— (See Lev. 26.42-45; Gen. 17 and 2,6.3,4.) Necessity will lead the holy seed, the remnant to prayer. The Lord is always found by those who earnestly seek CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT Vers. 64-68. are not to be found. 64 And Jehovah will scatter thee among all peoples, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou nor thy fathers, even wood and stone. 65 And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, and there shall be no rest for the sole of thy foot: but Jehovah will give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and pining of soul; 66 and thy life shall hang in doubt be- fore thee; and thou shalt, fear night and Ver. 64. day, and shalt have no assurance of thy life. 67 In the morning thou shalt say, Would it were even! and at even thou shalt say, Would it were morning! for the fear of thy heart which thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see. 68 And Jehovah will bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I said unto thee, Thou shalt see it no more again: and there ye shall sell yourselves unto your enemies for bondmen and for bondwomen, and no man shall buy you. THE FUTURE DISPERSIONS OF ISRAEL FORETOLD. There is perhaps not a country in the world where Jews The Jews have not, however, served gods of wood and stone among the nations where they are scattered today, nor have they so done since the Assyrian and Babylonian captivity; therefore the refer- ence to this in the verse shows that these earlier dispersions were also, and perhaps primarily, included in the words of the author. Ver. 65. When banished among these nations Israel could find no place where it could quietly set its foot and be at peace; even a trembling heart, a failing of the eyes (the going out of the lamp of life) and a pining of soul was to be their heritage. 19 DEUTERONOMY Ver. 66. “and thy life shall hang in doubt before thee’’,—‘‘It will be’’, says Knobel, ‘‘like some valued object, hanging by a thin thread before thine eyes, which any moment might tear down.”’ It will be ever hanging in the greatest danger. On these verses Scofield says, ““How wonderfully, and with what exact literalness, this passage has been fulfilled. Written more than 3000 years ago, in the wilderness of Moab, before the tribes had gone into the promised land, before the nation had been constituted, these chapters con- tain in a prophetic form a synopsis of the entire history of the chosen people from that day to this—closing with such a prophecy as might be taken bodily for a description of the present-day Israel. In Russia with her 4,000,000 Jews, everywhere they are persecuted. Again, wherever the Jew is persecuted he is orthodox, believing that the prophecies will be literally fulfilled in him.’ It is a fact that as the Jew becomes wealthy and established in power he gradually ceases to believe in the literal fulfill- ment of the prophecies, and loses all desire, as is seen in the case of the Reformed Jew, to go back to the Holy Land or to have his national life reconstituted. Ver. 67. They wiil say what is here announced because of perpetual dread of what each day or night might bring to them. Ver. 68. The worst is mentioned last, their being taken back into rere to ignominious slavery. “I said unto thee; thou shalt see tt no more again”’,—God will cause them to take a way which they would never have seen again if they had been faithful i in their loyalty to Him. “in ships’’,—i. e., in violence, packed in slave ships and without any POs ELULY, of escape. “and no man shall buy you’’,—Says Schroeder, ‘“‘Even in the ane markets of Egypt, their look, the curse of God, would frighten the buyer away.’ ‘The clause is one which indicates the utmost contempt. Under Titus, according to Josephus, multitudes of Jews were trans- ported in ships to Egypt and there sold into bondage, and also under Hadrian Jews without number were sold. ‘‘But the word of God is not so contracted. The curses were fulfilled in the time of the Romans in Egypt, but they were also fulfilled in a terrible manner during the middle ages, and are still in a course of fulfillment, opouee frequently less sensibly felt.” © (Schultz. ) CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE The Covenant which God here makes with His people is not a new covenant besides the one He made with them in Horeb, but it is rather a renewed declaration of that same covenant. The conditions of the cove- nant they had violated, and Moses here rehearses these conditions and sum- mons the people to enter again into the covenant which God was now once more making with them, in order that He might be their God and fulfill His promises concerning them (verses 10-15). Then comes in the closing verses the allusions to the punishments which threatened them in case of apostacy. 20 DEU TERONOMY CHAPTER THIRTY 1 And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither Jehovah thy God hath driven thee, 2 and shalt return unto Jehovah thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thy heart, and with all thy soul; 3 that then Jehovah thy God will* turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the peoples whither Jehovah thy God hath scat- tered thee. 4 If any of thine outcasts be in the uttermost parts of heaven, from thence will Jehovah thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee: 5 and Jehovah thy God will bring thee into the land which they fathers pos- sessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers. 6 And Jehovah thy God will circumcise thy heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love Jehovah thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live. 7 And Jehovah thy God will put all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, that persecuted thee. 8 And thou shalt return and obey the voice of Jehovah, and do all his com- mandmenis which I command thee this day. 9 And Jehovah thy God will make thee plenteous in all the work of thy ‘hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, for good: for Jehovah will again rejoice over thee for good, as he rejoiced over thy fathers; 10 if thou shalt obey the voice of Jehovah thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law; if thou turn unto Je- hovah thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul. 1Or, return to Vers. 1-10. Ver. 1. “the blessing and the curse’’,—1. e., the blessing for the obed- ient and the curse for the obdurate. Even in the direst times and deepest apostacy on the part of the nation there would always be a holy seed to which the blessings pertained, as well as the incorrigible majority upon whom the curse exhausted itself. Wier. %..5)(oee Chap, 4.29.) Ver. 3. “will turn thy captivity’’,—This does not mean to bring back the captives (Kn. Ges. Mic.), in as much as this is said in what fcllows to be the consequence of the turning of their captivity; while fur- thermore the form of the verb will not permit this interpretation. It must be taken either in a figurative sense, to turn the imprisonment, i. e., to put an end to the captivity (K. Mei.), or be taken, as Hengstenberg and Schroeder take it, in the sense of the marginal rendering of our text, “The return of the Lord to the captivity, from which, with the wretched- ness of His people, He had hitherto concealed His face.’’ ‘This latter ren- dering seems to suit the connection and especially the parallelism with the “return’’ of the Lord in the following part of the verse. (See Jer. 29.14; Boe) sl.) “and will return’’,—This return of Jehovah to His people seems to resume the thought of the first “‘return’’ and thus confirms somewhat the interpretation given above. Vers. 4,5. ‘‘These words’, says Keil, ‘““do not furnish any proof that the Jews will ultimately be brought back to Palestine. The posses- sion of earthly Canaan for all time is nowhere promised to the Israelitish nation in the law. The words ‘multiply thee above thy fathers’, while 21 THE PROMISE OF RESTORATION DECLARED. DEUTERONOMY they have some reference to the final redemption of Israel, are fatal to the view of any literal restoration. If there is to be an increase in the number of the Jews, when they are gathered out of their dispersion, above the num- ber of their fathers, and therefore above the number in the time of Solomon and the first monarchs of the two kingdoms, Palestine will never furnish room enough for a nation multiplied like this.”’ There is little, if any force at all, in this objection, which is also voiced by Wordsworth and others. If the Lord pleased to make the land capable of sustaining larger numbers He could easily do so. ‘The passage does seem to point to a national and local return. It has received partial fulfillment again and again in the history of the Jews, but whether, after the conversion of the Jews to Christ, they are to be literally restored to the earthly Canaan must be determined in keeping with the various other Scriptures on this matter. Keil says, ‘“The multiplication promised here will consist in the reali- zation of the promise given to Abraham, that his seed should grow into nations, not of ‘Israel according to the flesh,’ but of ‘Israel according to the spirit’, whose land is not restricted to the boundaries of an earthly Palestine.’’ (Schr. Wor. Gosman.) Jamieson, on the other hand, contends that, ‘“The promise was not fulfilled on the restoration of the Jews from Babylon, for Israel was not then scattered in the manner here described—‘among all nations’, ‘unto the utmost parts of heaven’ (verse.4) ; and when God recalled them from that bondage all the Israelites were not brought back, and they were not multi- plied above their fathers (verse 5), nor were their hearts nor those of their children circumcised to love the Lord (verse 6). It is not, therefore, of the Babylonish captivity Moses is speaking in this passage; it must be of the dispersed state to which they have been doomed for 1800 years. ‘This prediction may have been partially accomplished upon the return from Babylon; for, according to the structure and design of Scripture prophecy, it may have pointed to several similar eras in their national history. But undoubtedly it will receive its complete and full accomplishment in the conversion of the Jews to the Gospel of Christ, after which they will return and obey the voice of the Lord. ‘The words may, therefore, be interpreted either wholly in a spiritual sense (John 11.51,52), or, as many think, in a literal sense also.”’ Scofield says, ‘Here, then, if there were no other passage, is.a plain declaration of the purpose of God to plant again his ancient people in their own land.”’ Ver. 6. ‘The fulfillment of this promise,’ says Keil, ‘‘does not take place all at once. It commenced with small beginning at the deliverance from Babylonish exile, and in a still larger degree at the appearance of Christ in the case of all the Israelites who received Him then as their Saviour. Since then it has been carried on through all ages in the conver- sion of individual children of Abraham to Christ, and it will be realized in the future in a more glorious manner in the nation at large (Rom. ld2baee Ver. 7. The reverse side of these acts of grace, after the manner of Gen, 12.3. Vers. 8-10. Now follows the general thought that the Israelites 7) II SAMUEL would come again into right relations with Jehovah, their God, would enter into true covenant relationship with Him and enjoy the blessings of the covenant under Him. The “fathers” are not the patriarchs alone but all the pious ancestors of the people. ‘These verses Scofield calls ‘“The Palestinian Covenant,’ and says that it ‘gives the conditions under which Israel entered the promised land. It is important to see that the nation has never yet taken the land under the unconditional Abrahamic Covenant, nor has it ever possessed the whole land. ‘The Palestinian Covenant is in seven parts: Dispersion for disobedience, verse 1. The future repentance of Israel while in the dispersion, verse 2. The return of the Lord, verse 3. Restoration to the land, verse 5. National conversion, verse 6. The judgment of Israel’s oppressors, verse 7. 7) National prosperity, verse 9.” In verse 20 is set forth once more the condition of life, and of long life in the land promised to their fathers. 1 fs 3 4 5 6 CN Ne oe THE SECOND BOOK OF SAMUEL (B. C. 1056—B. C. 1017) GHAPTER SEVEN 8 Now therefore thus shalt thou say 13 He shall build a house for my name, unto my servant David, Thus saith and I will establish the throne of his Jehovah of hosts, I took thee from the kingdom for ever. 14 I will be his ‘sheepcote, from following the sheep, father, and he shall be my son: if he . that thou shouldest be *prince over my commit iniquity, I will chasten him people, over Israel; 9 and I have been with the rod of men, and with the with thee whithersoever thou wentest, stripes of the children of men; 15 but and have cut off all thine enemies from my lovingkindness shall not depart from before thee; and I will make thee a great him, as I took it from Saul, whom I name, like unto the name of the great put away before thee. 16 And thy ones that are in the earth. 10 And I will house and thy kingdom shall be made appoint a place for my people Israel, sure for ever before thee: thy throne and will plant them, that they may shall be established for ever. 17 Ac- dwell in their own place, and be moved cording to all these words, and accord- no more; neither shall the children of ing to all this vision, so did Nathan wickedness afflict them any more, as at speak unto David. the first, 11 and as from the day that I 24 And thou didst establish to thy- commanded judges to be over my peo- self thy people Israel to be a people ple Israel; and I ‘will cause thee to rest unto thee for ever; and thou, Jehovah, from all thine enemies. Moreover Jeho- becamest their God. vah telleth thee that Jehovah will make 29 now therefore “let it please thee to thee a house. 12 When thy days are bless the house of thy servant, that it fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy may continue for ever before thee; for fathers, I will set up thy seed after thou, O Lord Jehovah, hast spoken it: thee, that shall proceed out of thy and with thy blessing let the house of bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. thy servant be blessed for ever. 1Or, pasture 4Or, begin and bless *Or, leader 8Or, have caused 23 Il SAMUEL Vers. 8-17,24,29. "THE COVENANT WITH DAVID. Ver. 10. ‘‘The gradually advancing manifestations of the Lord’s favor to David as set forth in verses 8 and 9 look to the well-being of the people of Israel.’’ (Er.) “T will appoint a place’’,—By subduing their enemies the Lord made room for a safe and unengendered expansion by the people of Israel in the promised land. “will plant them’’,—This is the promise of a firm, deep-rooted national life. “dwell in their own place’’,—1. e., within the limits secured for them by the Lord. “as at the first’’,—This doubtless refers to the beginning of their his- tory in Egypt. The sense is, as W. J. Erdman says, that after all the manifestations of His favor in the past up to this time, the Lord will for the future assure His people a position and an existence wherein they shall no more experi- ence the affliction and oppression that they formerly suffered from godless nations. Ver. 11. “and I will cause thee to rest’’»,-Some take the verb in the perfect tense as in the Authorized Version, resuming the thought from verse 9, but this is inadmissible because the discourse has already in the pre- ceding words turned to the future, and such a retrogressive repetition would be intolerable considering especially the rapid advance in thought. “Jehovah will build thee a house’”,—There is here no allusion to David's house of cedar, the building of the house being here naturally figur- ative of the bestowment of a blessed posterity, etc. (See I Chron.-17.25.) Ver. 12. After David's death the promise was to be fulfilled. “thy seed’’,—This does not refer to the whole posterity of David, as is clear from the explanatory words in I Chron. 17.11, “thy seed that shall be of thy sons’’; nor is it merely a single individual, but a selection from the posterity, which will be appointed by God’s favor to succeed David on the throne. Ver. 13. “‘for my name’’,—The name stands for God Himself— not simply in His honor, or as a place to call on Him, but a place which should be the sign and pledge of His presence in Israel. Ver. 14. “the rod of men’’,—This means with such punishment as men suffer for their sins and not merely “moderate punishments’, as Clericus says. | Ver. 15. Hengstenberg finely remarks, ‘“The contrast is that be- tween the punishment of sin in individuals and the favor that remains permanently with the family, whereby the divine promise becomes an un- conditional one.” “before thee’’,—1. e., before thy face. Ver. 16. David, as ancestor and beginner of the line of kings, is conceived of as he who passes all his successors before him in vision, as Gerlach supposes, or as Keil says, “continues to exist in his descendants’. 24 [ CHRONICLES When David's earthly throne became extinct God raised up Christ as his seed to sit on his throne forever. Ver. 24. ‘The first clause does not refer merely to the liberation of Israel out of Egypt, nor hardly to the conquest of Canaan alone, as W. J. Erdman supposes, but rather as Keil says, “‘to all that the Lord had done for the establishment of Israel as the people of His possession, from the time SS Moses till His promise of the eternal continuance of the throne of avid.” “establish’’,—The thought is of the establishment of their dwellings, their possessions and their whole life. “to be a people unto thee forever’’,—Gerlach says, ‘“‘All nations are finally merged in this people, the divine Israel, the congregation of Jesus Christ.’’ Again, as throughout the passage, it is a question of literal or spiritual interpretation. Ver. 29. “for thou, O Lord Jehovah, hast spoken it’’,—This rep- resents the content of verse 21] as the divine ground of the desired fulfill- ment of the promise. “with thy blesstng’’,—This is better rendered, ‘from thy blessing’, as the source of all blessings. Then instead of the optative form of the Authorized Version and of our text, the future form of the last clause gives a richer sense and one more appropriate to the connection, i. e., God hath spoken it and it WILL be so. ‘The sentence best reads, ‘“‘And from thy blessing will the house of thy servant be blessed forever.” Says Scofield, ““This Davidic’ covenant has but one condition: dis- obedience in the Davidic family is to be visited with chastisement, but not to the abrogation of the Covenant (II Sam. 7.15; Psa. 89.20-37; Isa. 24.5; 54.3). The chastisement fell; first in the division of the kingdom under Rehoboam, and, finally in the captivities (II Kings 25.1-7). Since that time but one King of the Davidic family has been crowned at Jerusa- lem and He was crowned with thorns. But the Davidic covenant con- firmed to David by the oath of Jehovah, and renewed to Mary by the angel Gabriel, is immutable (Psa. 89.30-37), and the Lord God will yet give to that thorn-crowned One ‘the throne of His father David’ (Luke iene oeerncts 2,29-52; 15,14-17)." _ THE FIRST BOOK OF THE CHRONICLES (BG 015) CHAPTER SEVENTEEN 7 Now therefore thus shalt thou say that thou shouldst be “prince over my unto my servant David, Thus saith people Israel: 8 and I have been with Jehovah of hosts, I took thee from the thee whithersoever thou hast gone, and "sheepcote, from following the sheep, have cut off all thine enemies from be- 1Or, pasture *Or, leader 25 I CHRONICLES fore thee; and I will make thee a name like unto the name of the great ones that are in the earth. 9 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in their own place and be moved no more; neither shall the children of wickedness waste them any more, as at the first, !0 and as from the day that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel; and I “will subdue all thine enemies. Moreover I tell thee that Jehovah will build thee a house. 11 And it shall come to pass, when thy days are 3Or, have subdued fulfilled that thou must go to be with thy fathers, that I will set up thy seed after thee, who shall be of thy sons; and I will establish his kingdom. 12 He shall build me a house, and I will estab- lish his throne for ever. 13 I will be his father, and he shall be my son: and I will not take my lovingkindness away from him, as I took it from him that was before thee; 14 but I will settle. him in my house and in my kingdom for ever; and his throne shall be estab- lished for ever. 15 According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto David. Vers. 7-15. THE DAVIDIC COVENANT. (See II Samuel 7.8-17.) “David is here,’’ says Scofield, “‘as often, a type of his Son after the flesh (Matt. 1.1; Rom. 1.3), Jesus the Shepherd-King. At His first com- ing He took the shepherd’s place, first in death (John 10.11), and now in resurrection power (Heb. 13.20). At His return He will take the place of ‘‘ruler-over Israel”: (Isa. 1 1.10-12: Jer..23.5-8; Lukevi§32) jopmeners 15.14-17). This is the precise order of Psalms 22,23,24. In the first the Good Shepherd is giving His life for the sheep; in the second He is caring for the sheep; in the third He comes to reign as King in glory.” Ver. 9. “I will appoint’’,—The perfects here are to be taken as future statements of that which God will further show to His people. Some would have the promises of future salvation begin only with verse 11. “children of wickedness’’,—The Egyptians are doubtless chiefly in- tended. Ver. 10. “I tell thee’’,—It is inadmissible to give this a past mean- ing, as do some, and render, ‘‘I have told thee’; because we cannot discover that such an announcement was made before, in as much as our historical books nowhere mention it. Ver. 11. ‘“‘who shall be of thy sons’’,—II Sam. 7.12 no doubt presents the original, ‘‘that shall proceed out of thy bowels’’. Keil, Starke, and older commentators say that the writer here meant to designate not so much Solomon but the Messiah. But the first words of verse 12 seem to indicate that Solomon was meant, as in II Chron. 7.18 his person and not that of some future Messianic descendant is manifestly designated. Accordingly, as in II Sam. 7.12, so in Chronicles the Messi-. anic element is limited essentially to the eternal duration that is promised to the kingdom of Solomon (verses 12-14). Wert 13) Ver. 14. “in my house and in my kingdom’’,—First in the Old Testament theocracy and then in the Messianic kingdom of the new cove- nant, the full glory of which is yet to come. 26 “him that was before thee’’,—1. e., Saul. JOB THE BOOK OF Cie 0)) CHAPTER NINETEEN 25 But as for me I know that my Re- 26 And after my skin, even this body, is deemer liveth, destroyed, And at last he will stand up upon Then without my flesh shall I see the earth; God. Ver. 25-26. JOB’S FAITH IN HIS FUTURE VINDICATION. There is really some doubt as to whether this passage in Job can rightly be said to hold any reference to Christ, or to Job’s resurrection or to any contemplated vision of the coming Lord. The Hebrew word ‘‘Goel’’ may quite as properly be translated ‘‘Vin- dicator’’; the words ‘‘day’’, ‘“worms”’ and “‘body”’ are not in the text, and it is somewhat doubtful whether even the idea of death inheres in the passage. Many modern translators think Job meant to say no more than that even though his skin, that is, his body, waste away, yet “‘tn his flesh’, that is, before he dies, he would see God interposing to vindicate his char- acter, even as the concluding part of the poem shows to have been the case. While these expositors do not question that Job did believe in the immor- tality of the soul, they contend that it is a question whether at that early period he could have had any such well defined doctrine of the Resurrection. or would have used it in this connection if he had. By far the majority of modern expositors, however, it is held that Job does refer to his resurrection, and that although no reference is made to his resurrection body, the hope is expressed of a future spiritual beholding of God as a glorified spirit. But, with Delitzsch, we do not believe this exhausts the meaning of Job’s confession. If the translation, ‘“‘in my flesh’, be retained, the reference, accord- ingly, must be to his resurrection body. ‘The translation of our text, however, (‘‘without my flesh’’) is much to: be preferred and.is held by practically all of our ablest commentators. It must further be noticed that Job says that not merely he, but his eyes shall behold God, and he must therefore have imagined his spirit clothed with a new spiritual body instead of the old decayed one, all of which points to a rather clear hope of a coming resurrection. “And at last He will stand upon the earth’’,—In view of the fore- going it is certainly within the limits of sound interpretation to see in these words a prophecy of the Redeemer’s Second Coming, or, as is often the case with the prophets, a double prophecy, viz., of the Redeemer’s in- carnation and His coming to judgment, the first necessary to the second and the second the compliment of the first. Certainly as thus taken, this magnificent passage is worthy, as one has said, to be “‘written in gems and gold’’, 27 THE PSALMS THE PSALMS (B. C. 1055) PSALM ONE 5 Therefore the wicked shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. Ver. 5. THE WICKED AND THE RIGHTEOUS IN JUDGMENT-TIME. “the wicked shall not stand tn the judgment’’,—We are reminded by certain scholars that it is not without significance that the Greek version reads here, “‘the wicked shall not rise’, and for “‘sinners in the congregation of the righteous”’ it reads, “‘sinners in the counsel of the righteous’, as if not only would the ungodly not rise at the same time with the righteous, but that the latter would be a congregation or a company to whom special judicial functions would belong. (Deut. 7.22 and Rev. 20.4.) Exegetical refinement of this character is, however, not to be relied upon. PSALM TWO The first three verses of this Psalm describe the conduct of the rebel- ious nations, the next three set forth God as replying to them by word and deed, while in the next three the Messiah, the Anointed Himself, speaks without being introduced and declares the divine decree in relation to Him- self, and in the last three verses the Psalmist exhorts the nations to sub- mission. Scofield says this Psalm gives the order of the establishment of the Kingdom. He says, “‘It is in six parts. (1) The rage of the Gentiles, the vain imagination of the ‘people’ (the Jews), and the antagonism of the rulers against Jehovah’s Anointed (verses 1-3). [he inspired interpre- tation of this is in Acts 4.25-28, which asserts its fulfillment in the cruci- fixion of Christ. (2) The derision of Jehovah (verse 4) that men should suppose it possible to set aside His covenant (II Sam. 7.8-17), and oath (Psa. 89.34-37). (3) The vexation (verse 5) fulfilled, first in the De- struction of Jerusalem, A. D. 70; and in the final dispersion of the Jews at that time; and to be fulfilled more completely in the tribulation (Matt. 24.29) which immediately precedes the return of the King (Matt. 24.30). (4) The establishment of the rejected King upon Zion (verse 6). (5) The subjection of the earth to the King’s rule (verses 7-9). (6) The present appeal to the world-powers (verses 10-12).” 1 Why do the nations ‘rage, Against Jehovah, and against his And the peoples meditate a vain anointed, saying thing? ait 3 Let us break their bonds asunder, E And cast away their cords from us. 2 The kings of the earth set them- 4 He that sitteth in the heavens will selves, laugh: : And the rulers take counsel together, The Lord will have them in derision. 10Or, tumultuously assemble 28 THE PSALMS 5 Then will he speak unto them in his wrath, And ‘*vex them in his sore dis- pleasure: 6 Yet I have set my king Upon my holy hill of Zion. 7 1 will tell of the decree: Jehovah said unto me, Thou art my son; This day have I begotten thee. 8 Ask of me, and I will give thee the nations for thine inheritance, And the uttermost parts of the earth 9 Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel. 10 Now therefore be wise, O ye kings: Be instructed, ye judges of the earth. 11 Serve Jehovah with fear, And rejoice with trembling. 12 Kiss the son, lest he be angry, and ye perish in the way, For his wrath “will soon be kindled. “Blessed are all they that take refuge for thy possession. in him. “Or, trouble 3Or, may 4Or, Happy Vers. 1-12. “THE REIGN OF JEHOVAH’S ANOINTED. Ver. 5. This verse Scofield thinks is to find its final and more com- plete fulfillment in the great tribulation just before Christ’s coming in glory and especially in the moment of that coming, while verse 6 he thinks refers to the establishment of the rejected Messiah upon Mount Zion, and the three following verses to the submission of the earth to His rule. With this we find those of the same school of interpretation in agreement. There is no question whatever as to the Messianic character of the Psalm, and in so far as it has not as yet found fulfillment it must of course look still to the future. Says Alexander, ““The same rash and hopeless opposition to the Lord and His Anointed still continues, and is likely to continue until the king- doms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ.”’ These authorities, belonging to opposite schools of interpretation, con- tend, as will be noted, the one for a literal and the other for a spiritual fulfillment of this prophetical Psalm. Ver. 7. “I will tell the decree’’,—1. e., the statute, the organic law or constitution of my kingdom. “Jehovah said unto me’’,—-1. e., at my inauguration or induction into office. “This day have I begotten thee’’,—The relation here described as manifest in time rests upon one that is essential and eternal, and the inter- pretation of the passage as describing the inauguration of Christ as Media- torial King by no means impugns the Eternal Sonship of His Divine nature. It does not therefore, by implying something recent, exclude the eternal reference any more than the universality of Christ’s kingdom is excluded by the local reference to Zion. The phrase, “I have begotten thee’’, is equivalent to saying “I have become thy Father.”’ Ver. 8. Here Jehovah speaks to His Son. “attermost parts of the earth’’,—1. e., all that lies between the utter- most ends of the earth. This is to be the Messiah’s kingdom. ‘That He has asked for this and received it as His heritage is implied in verses 2 and 3 where the nations are represented as in revolt against Him as their right- ful sovereign. This verse of course asserts the share of the Gentiles in the blessings of the Messiah’s rule yet not as heathen, but as submissive to the Messianic kingdom. Ae) THE PSALMS Seiss remarks here that this Psalm and especially this verse is much upon the lips of those who expect the world’s conversion, and a blessed Millenium prior to the return of Christ to judge the alien world. But he says, ‘“This is a mistake. We have here the Father's covenant to the Son, and not to men in this world; and the time given for its fulfillment is the judgment time; the time when the confederated anti-christian powers are to be dashed to pieces like brittle pottery; the time when God shall enthrone His King on the holy hill of Zion. This Psalm synchronizes in its import with Dan. 2.44-45; 7.9-14 and Lu. 19.15-27.” Ver.9. “Thou shalt break them with arod of iron’’,—The Messiah ~ is thus represented also in Rev. 12.5 and 19.5. ‘This utterly shatters the objection of De Wette to the Messianic interpretation. The Messiah's power is to be exercised in wrath as well asin mercy. [he Septuagint and several older versions change some of the vowel points and make it read like Micah 7.14, ‘‘to rule’, or “‘to feed with a rod of iron’’ (as a shepherd). This last figure is a common one to represent the exercise of regal power, and there may be an ironical allusion to this here. “Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s wheel’’,—A descrip- tion of the easy and immediate destruction of a worthless vessel. Blackstone remarks here, ‘‘He is coming to sit upon the throne of His glory (Matt. 25.31), and to be admired in all them that believe (II Thess. 1.10), and to rule, in judgment and equity, all the nations of the earth. His coming in His Kingdom and His coming in His glory are synonymous, and both are yet future.’’ PSALM EIGHT 4 What is man, that thou art mindful 6 Thou makest him to have dominion of him? over the works of thy hands; — And the son of man, that thou visit- Thou hast put all things under his est him? feet: 7 All sheep and oxen, Yea, and the beasts of the field, 8 The birds of the heavens, and the 5 For thou hast made him but little lower than *God, And crownest him with glory and fish of the sea, honor. Whatsoever passeth through the 10r, the angels. Heb. Elohim. paths of the seas. Vers. 4-8. CHRIST'S FUTURE DOMINION FORETOLD. This Psalm is taken by many as next in order of the Messianic Psalms. That its main reference, however, is to the dignity of human nature, as it was at first and as it is to be restored in Christ, there can be no doubt. “Tt is very evident, however,’’ says Jamieson, ‘‘by the Apostle’s inspired expositions (Heb. 2. 6-8; I Cor. 15.27,28) that the language here em- ployed finds its fulfillment only in the final exaltation of Christ’s human’ nature.” In Psalm 2 Jehovah’s rejected and crucified Son is yet to reign in Zion; here, though in His human nature made a little lower than the angels (verses 4-6), He is to have dominion over the redeemed creation. (See Heb. 2.6-11.) Says Scofield, ‘‘Heb. 2.6-11, in connection with this Psalm and Rom. 8.17-21, shows that the ‘many sons’, whom He is bringing to glory, are 30 THE PSALMS joint heirs with Him in both the royal right of Psa. 2 and the human right of Heb. 2.” PSALM SIXTEEN 9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my Neither wilt thou suffer *thy holy glory rejoiceth; one to see “corruption. My flesh also shall dwell in *safety. 10 For thou wilt not leave my soul to ‘ *Or, godly; or beloved. Another reading is, Sheol; holy ones. 10Or, confidently %Or, the pit Vers. 9,10. CHRIST’S RESURRECTION FORETOLD. This is the next in order of the Messianic Psalms. According to Peter (Acts 2.25) and Paul (Acts 13.35), this Psalm relates to Christ, and expresses, as Jamieson says, ‘‘the feelings of His human nature in view of His sufferings and victory over death and the grave, including His subse- quent exaltation at the right hand of God.” Vers. 9,10. ‘As a prophet’, says Scofield, ‘“‘David understood that, not at His first advent, but at some time subsequent to His death and resurrection Christ would assume the Davidic throne.”’ PSALM TWENTY-TWO This Psalm is next in order as Messianic. 28 For the kingdom is Jehovah's; and 30 A seed shall serve him; he is the ruler over the nations. It shall bet told of the Lord unto th 29 All the fat ones of the earth shall ast deh tees aR eee eat and worship: : ‘ : d All they that go down to the dust 31 They shall come and shall declare his shall bow before him, righteousness Even he that cannot keep his soul Unto a people that shall be born, alive. that he hath done it. 1Or, counted unto the Lord for his gener- ations Vers. 28-31. “THE LORD SHALL RULE THE NATIONS OF THE EARTH. In verse 28 the kingdom is said to be Jehovah’s, while in verse 30 the Lord is in view as ruling on behalf of Jehovah. The great end and object of the rule of the Lord is the restoration of the kingdom to Jehovah (I Cor. 15.23,24). The true meaning here of the word “‘seed”’ is ‘‘posterity’’. PSALM TWENTY-FOUR The Messianic reference of the Twenty-fourth Psalm (S. Hen. Mic. Schm.) is somewhat doubtful, but Alexander has well said of it, ‘“The sanctuary of the old economy was intended to symbolize God’s special presence and residence among His people; and as this was realized in the advent of Christ, the Psalm before us may in a certain sense be described as Messianic.”’ Dal THE PSALMS 7 Lift up your heads, O ye gates; And be ye lifted up, ye ‘everlasting doors: And the King of glory will come in. 8 Who is the King of glory? Jehovah, strong and mighty, Jehovah, mighty in battle. 9 Lift up your heads, O ye gates; Yea, lift them up, ye iid doors And the King of glory will come in. 10 Who is this King of glory? Jehovah of hosts, He is the King of glory. 1Or, ancient Vers. 7-10. THE THRONE GIVEN TO THE KING OF GLORY. The order of the Psalm is somewhat as follows: . First, The declar- ation of Title, ‘‘the earth is the Lord’s’’ (verses 1,2) ; Second, The Require- ment of Holiness for rulership of the earth (verses 3-6); Third, The Ascension to the throne of the worthy One, the King of Glory. “Tt is’, says Scofield, ‘‘a question of worthiness, and no one is worthy but the Lamb, and thus the Lamb, the King of Glory, takes the throne of the earth.”’ PSALMS FORTY AND FORTY-ONE These are the two next in order of the Messianic Psalms. Psalm Forty speaks of Jehovah’s Servant obedient unto death, while Psalm Forty-one relates to the betrayal of the Son of man, as Jesus Him- self taught in the thirteenth chapter of John’s Gospel. PSALM FORTY-FIVE 1 My heart overfloweth with a-goodly matter; 1] speak the things which I have made touching the king: My tongue is the pen of a ready writer. 2 Thou art fairer than the children of men; Grace is poured * into thy lips: Therefore God hath blessed thee for ever. 3 Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O mighty one, Thy glory and thy majesty. 4 And in thy majesty ride on prosper- ously, "Because of truth and meekness and righteousness: And “thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things. 5 Thine arrows are sharp; The peoples fall under thee; They are in the heart of the king’s enemies. 6 °Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: 1Or, 1 speak: my work is for a king 2Or, upon 3Or, /x behalf of 4Or, let thy right hand teach 5Or, Thy throne is the throne of God &c. A sceptre of equity is the sceptre of thy kingdom. “7 Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated wickedness: Therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee With the oil of gladness above thy fellows. 8 All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia; Out of ivory palaces stringed instru- ments have made thee glad. 9 Kings’ daughters are among thy hon- orable women: At thy right hand doth stand the queen in gold of Ophir. 10 Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; Forget also thine own people, thy father’s house: 11 So will the king desire thy beauty; For he is thy lord; and-~ reverence thou him. 12 And the daughter of Tyre shall be there with a gift; The rich among the people shall en- treat thy favor. and ee THE PSALMS 13 The king's daughter’ within the They shall enter into the king’s palace is all glorious: palace. Her clothing is inwrought with gold. 16 Instead of thy fathers shall be thy 14 She shali be led unto the king in children, broidered work: Whom thou shalt make princes in all The virgins her companions that fol- the earth. low her 17 I will make thy name to be remem- Shall be brought unto thee. bered in all generations: 15 With gladness and rejoicing shall Therefore shall the peoples give thee they be led: thanks for ever and ever. ‘Or, in the inner part of the palace Vers. 1-17. THE UNION AND GLORY OF CHRIST AND HIS TRIUMPHANT CHURCH DESCRIBED. Next in order is the Forty-fifth Psalm, to which the Messianic sense is given by the oldest interpreters, both Jewish and Christian. Says Faus- set, ‘‘Several Jewish monarchs, from Solomon to the wicked Ahab and various foreign princes, have been named as the hero of the song. But to none of them can the terms here used be shown to apply, and it is hardly probable that any mere nuptial song, especially of a heathen king, would be permitted a place in the sacred songs of the Jews.’’ It is the union of Christ and the Church finally triumphant that is set forth. Scofield says, “This great Psalm of the King obviously looks forward to the advent in glory. The divisions are: (1) The supreme beauty of the King (verses 1,2); (2) the coming of the King in glory (verses 3-5). (Compare Rev. 19.11-21); (3) the Deity of the King and the character of His reign (verses 6,7) ; (4) as associated with Him in earthly rule, the queen is pre- sented (verses 9-13); (5) the virgin companions of the queen, who would seem to be the Jewish remnant, are next seen (verses 14,15); and (6) the tel) closes with a reference to the earthly fame of the King’ (verses On the other hand some have sought to find in the bride the Jewish Church and in the companions of the bride,.the Gentile Churches. But it is not necessary to find in the history of Christ and His Church exact parallels for every part of this splendid allegory, and it will not do to press the interpretation of the details in this manner. Fausset remarks that, “‘As to the time in which the prophecy is to be fulfilled, it may be said that no periods of time are especially designated. The characteristics of the relation of Christ and His Church are indicated, and we may suppose that the whole process of His exaltation from the dec- laration of His Sonship, by His resurrection, to the grand catastrophe of the final judgment, with all the collateral blessings to the Church and to the world, lay before the vision of the inspired prophet.”’ PSALM FORTY-EIGHT THE BEAUTY AND THE GLORY OF ZION. This, some would have us believe, is next in order of the Messianic Psalms. Indeed the Jewish interpreters take it to be descriptive of Jerusa- lem in the Messianic times, after the victory over Gog and Magog. The Psalm was most probably written to commemorate the same event as does the one before it, namely, the victory of Jehosaphat over the Ammonites aM] THE PSALMS and the Edomites as recorded in the twentieth chapter of Second Chron- icles, and the simpler method of interpretation is that it celebrates Jehovah and Jerusalem as His residence and sets forth the privileges and blessings of Jehovah's spiritual dominion as the terror of the wicked and the joy of the righteous. “The older Christian expositors apply the Psalm to the eternal glory of the spiritual Zion. PSALM SIXTY-EIGHT THE KING IN TRIUMPHANT ASCENSION AND UNIVERSAL DOMINION. This is next in order of the Messianic Psalms. Indeed the Fathers, most of the older theologians and some moderns (Mic.) take it as a direct prophecy of Christ, as to His advent, His saving doctrine, His triumphant ascension into heaven (Eph. 4.8) and His all-embracing sovereignty and divine glory; while Jamieson, Stier and others consider the Psalm to be typically Messianic. 21 But God will smite through the head of his enemies, The hairy. scalp of such a one as goeth on still in his guiltiness. 22 The Lord said, I will bring again from Bashan, I will bring them again from the depths of the sea; 23 That thou mayest crush them, dipping thy foot in blood, That the tongue of thy dogs may have its portion from thine ene- mies. 24 They have seen thy goings, O God, Even the goings of my God, my King, *into the sanctuary. 25 The singers went before, the min- strels followed after, In the midst of the damsels playing with timbrels. 26 Bless ye God in the congregations, Even the Lord, ye that are of the fountain of Israel. 27 There is little Benjamin their ruler, The princes of Judah and their “council, The princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali. 28 Thy God hath commanded thy strength: 1Or, ix the. sanctuary Or, in holiness “Or, company *Strengthen, O God, that which thou “has wrought for us. 29 Because of tiiy temple at Jerusalem Kings shall bring presents unto thee. 30 Rebuke the wild beast of the reeds, The multitude of the bulls, with the calves of the peoples, *Trampling under foot the pieces of silver: “He hath scattered the peoples that delight in war. 31 Princes shall come out of Egypt; ‘Ethiopia shall haste to stretch out her hands unto God. 32 Sing unto God, ye kingdoms of the earth; Oh sing praises unto the Lord; [Selah 33 To him that rideth upon the heaven of heavens, which are of old; Lo, he uttereth his voice, a mighty voice, 34 Ascribe ye strength unto God: His excellency is over Israel, And his strength is in the skies. 35 O God, thou art terrible out of thy holy places: The God of Israel, he giveth strength and power unto his people. Blessed be God. °Or, Be strong, O God, thou that hast &c. 4Or, hast wrought for us out of thy temple. Unto Jerusalem &c. *Or, Every one submitting himself with pieces of stlver Or, as otherwise read, Scatter thou THeb. Cush. ‘The entire Psalm,”’ says Scofield, “is pervaded by the joy of Israel in the kingdom, but a stricter order of events begins with verse 18, which verse is quoted by Paul in the fourth chapter of Ephesians of Christ’s ascension ministry. Verses 21-23 refer to the regathering of Israel, and the destruction of the Beast and his armies. Verses 24-35 are descriptive of full and universal kingdom blessing.”’ 34 THE PSALMS PSALM SIXTY-NINE THE KING IN HUMILIATION. Next in order of the Messianic Psalms is the Sixty-ninth. It is the Psalm of His humiliation and rejection. “The quotations from it and the references to it in the New Testament show how far the older interpreters were justified in so construing it. 35 For God will save Zion, and build 36 The seed also of his servants shall the cities of Judah; inherit it; And they shall abide there, and have And they that love his name shall it in possession. dwell therein. Vers. 35,36. JEHOVAH'S SERVANTS. TO. DWELL IN THE CITIES OF JUDAH. Says Moll, ‘“This does not expressly state a restoration of Zion and a repeopling of the cities of Judah. The words admit of being under- stood generally on the basis of the promise contained in the Law, of con- tinuance and growth and of our supposing that there is a prophetic glance at the fate of the land and people in individual experience.”’ Alexander says, ‘“‘As temporal and spiritual blessings were insepar- ably blended in the old dispensation, the promise of perpetual possession and abode in Palestine is merely the costume in which that of everlasting favor to the Church is clothed in the Old Testament.” Fausset says, ‘“Though, as usual, the imagery is taken from terms used of Palestine, the whole tenor of the context indicates that the spiritual privileges and blessings of the Church are meant.” The reference here, however, to a literal restoration in the holy land is not to be easily brushed aside, as the words may quite as readily contain such reference, provided, of course, such interpretation harmonizes with the teaching of the Scriptures elsewhere, and if other prophetical passages do teach a literal restoration, then it would seem fitting to so interpret here. PSALM SEVENTY-TWO 1 Give the king thy judgments, O God, 6 He will come down like rain upon And thy righteousness unto the the mown grass, king’s son. te As showers that water the earth. 2 He will judge thy people with right- 7 In his days shall the righteous flour- eousness, ish, And thy poor with justice. And abundance of peace, till the 3 The mountains shall bring peace to moon shall be no more. the people, 8 He shall have dominion also from And the hills, in righteousness. sea to sea, 4 He will judge the poor of the people, And from the River unto the ends of He will save the children of the the earth. needy, 9 They that dwell in the wilderness And will break in pieces the op- shall bow before him; pressor. And his enemies shall lick the dust. 5 They shall fear thee while the sun 10 The kings of Tarshish and of the endureth, isles shall render tribute: . And *so long as the moon, through- The kings of Sheba and Seba shall out all generations. offer gifts, WHeb. before the moon 35 THE PSALMS 1t Yea, all kings shall fall down before him; All nations shall serve him. 12 For he will deliver the needy when he crieth, And the poor, “that hath no helper. 13 He will have pity on the “poor and needy, And the souls of the needy he will save. 14 He will redeem their soul from ‘op- pression and violence; And precious will their blood be in 16 There shall be “abundance of grain in the ‘earth upon the top of the mountains; The fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon: And they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth. 17 His name shall endure for ever; His name shall “be continued °as long as the sun: And men shall *be blessed in him; All nations shall call him happy. 18 Blessed be Jehovah God, the God of © Israel, his sight: Who only doeth wondrous things: 15 And ‘they shall live; and to him 19 And blessed be his glorious name for shall be given of the gold of ever; Sheba: And let the whole earth be filled with And men shall pray for him con- his glory. tinually; Amen, and Amen. “They shall bless him all the day 20 The prayers of David the son of long. Jesse are ended. “Or, and him that hath 6Or, a handful 3Or, weak 7Or, land 4Or, fraud SOr, have issue 5Or, he "Heb. Jefore the sun WOr, bless themselves Vers. 1-20. “THE REIGN OF THE RIGHTEOUS KING. Next in order of the Messtanic Psalms is the one before us. It is a glowing description of the reign of the Messiah. His reign shall be a righteous one (verses 1-7), a universal-one (verses 8-11), a beneficent one (verses 12-14) and a perpetual one (verses 15-17). By the older Jewish and most modern Christian interpreters this Psalm has been referred to Christ, whose reign, present and prospective, says Fausset, alone corresponds with its statements. While the one school of interpretation spiritualizes the picture and makes it prophetic of Christ’s present spiritual reign on earth, Morgan, Seiss, Scofield, and others of their school, believe that the Psalm as a whole forms a complete vision of the Millennium kingdom which is to be ushered in with Christ’s personal return to earth. Says Scofield, ‘Verse 1 refers to the investiture of the King’s Son with the kingdom, of which investiture the formal description is given in Dan. 7.13,14; Rev. 5.5-10. Verses 2-7 and 12-14 give the character of the kingdom, while verses 8-11 speak of its universality. Verse 16 hints at the means by which universal blessing is to be brought in. Converted Israel will be the ‘handful of corn’ (Amos 9.9), as the King Himself in death and resurrection was the single grain, the ‘corn of wheat’ (John 12.24). ‘To the Jew first’ is the order alike of Church and kingdom. It is through restored Israel that the kingdom is to be extended over the earth.” ‘The sublime 72nd Psalm,”’ says Seiss, ‘‘is also largely drawn upon to adorn and sustain the theory of a universal peace and glory for this world before the present dispensation ends. It is there recorded that the Son of David ‘shall have dominion from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth. (Yea, all kings shall fall down before Him; all nations shall serve Him’, Wonderful changes for the better, in the whole 36 THE PSALMS government and condition of the world are thus foretold, which are too good not to be seized and appropriated to crown the outcome of human progress and effort. But notes of the time are not thus to be ignored. If we ask when all this is to be, the answer is given: ‘When He shall judge the people’-—when ‘He shall come down’—when ‘God shall give the King His judgments’—and hence not in the present course of things; not before the period of great consummation.”’ PSALM EIGHTY-FIVE JEHOVAH’S RETURNING FAVOR UPON THE NATION. Blackstone would have us believe that this Psalm is Messianic and that it refers, as seen especially in such verses as 10 and 11, to kingdom blessings. The Psalm is a description of God’s returning favor, and as Fausset says, ‘“The writer doubtless had in view that more glorious period, when Christ shall establish His government on God’s reconciled justice and abounding mercy.’’ This view of the Psalm is, however, not to be accepted without hesitation. The Psalm is a prayer for deliverance from present evils on the ground of former benefits. “‘It seems,’’ says Alexan- der, ‘‘to be appropriate to every case in which the fulfillment of the promise in Lev. 26.3-13 was suspended or withheld.”’ ‘The older commentators, however, looked upon the Psalm as prophetic. PSALM EIGHTY-NINE 11 will sing of the lovingkindness of Who is a mighty one, like unto thee, Jehovah for ever: O “Jehovah? With my mouth will I make known And thy faithfulness is round about thy faithfulness to all generations. thee. 2 For I have said, Mercy shall be built 9 Thou rulest the pride of the sea: up for ever; When the waves thereof arise, thou Thy faithfulness wilt thou establish stillest them. ; in the very heavens. 10 Thou -bast broken “Rahab in pieces, 3 I have made a covenant with my as one that is slain; chosen, Thou hast scattered thine enemies I have sworn unto David my servant: with the arm of thy strength. 4 Thy seed will I establish for ever, 11 The heavens are thine, the earth also And build up thy throne to all gen- euihines erations. [Selah The world and the fullness thereof, 5 And the heavens shall praise thy thou hast founded them. wonders, O Jehovah; Thy faithfulness also in the assembly of the holy ones, 6 For who in the skies can be com- pared unto Jehovah? Who among the ‘sons of the *mighty is like unto Jehovah, 12 The north and the south, thou hast created them: Tabor and Hermon rejoice in thy name, 13 Thou hast °a mighty arm; Strong is thy hand, and high is thy 7 A God very terrible in the council of right hand. car the holy ones, 14 Righteousness and justice are the And to be feared above all them that foundation of thy throne: are round about him? Lovingkindness and truth go before 8 O Jehovah, God of hosts, thy face. 10r, sons of God SHeb. Jah 2Or, gods See Ps, 29. 1. 4Or, Egypt 5Heb. an arm with might ay THE PSALMS 15 Blessed is the people that know the ‘joyful sound: They walk, O Jehovah, in the light of thy countenance 16 In thy name do they rejoice all the day; And in thy righteousness are they exalted. 17 For thou art the glory of their strength; And in thy favor ‘our horn shall be exalted. 18 For our shield belongeth unto Je- hovah; *And our king to the Holy One of Israel. 19 Then thou spakest in vision to thy *saints, And saidst, I have laid help upon one that is mighty; I have exalted one chosen out of the people. 20 1 have found David my servant; With my holy oil have I anointed him: 21 With whom my hand shall be estab- lished; Mine arm also shall strengthen him. 22 The enemy shall not “exact from him, Nor the son of wickedness afflict him. 23 And I will beat down his adversaries before him, And smite them that hate him. 24 But my faithfulness and my loving- kindness shall be with him; And in my name shall his horn be exalted. 25 I will set his hand also on the sea, And his right hand on the rivers. 26 He shall cry unto me, Thou art my Father, My God, and the rock of my salva- tion. 27 I also will make him my firstborn, The highest of the kings of the earth. 28 My lovingkindness will I keep for him for evermore; And my covenant shall “stand fast with him. 29 His seed also will I make to endure for ever, And his throne as the days of heaven. 30 If his children forsake my law, And walk not in mine ordinances; 31 If they “break my statutes, And keep not my commandments; ®Or, trumpet sound 7Another reading is, thou shalt exalt our horn ‘Or, Even to the Holy One of Israel our King "Or, as otherwise read, saint WOr, do him violence "Or, be faithful Heb. profane 38 32 Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, And their iniquity with stripes. 33 But my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, Nor suffer my faithfulness to fail. 34 My covenant will I not “break, Nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips. 35 “Once have I sworn by my holiness: I will not lie unto David: 36 His seed shall endure for ever, And his throne as the sun before me. 37 “It shall be established for ever as the moon, And as the faithful witness in the sky. [Selah 38 But Se hast cast off and rejected, Thou hast been wroth with thine anointed. 39 Thouhast abhorred the covenant of thy servant: Thou hast profaned his crown. by casting it to the ground. 40 Thou hast broken down all his hedges; ‘ Thou hast brought his strongholds to ruin. 41 All that pass by the way rob him: He is become a reproach to his neigh- bors. 42 Thou hast exalted the right hand of his adversaries; Thou hast made all his’ enemies to rejoice. 43 Yea, thou turnest back the edge of his sword, And hast not made him to stand in the battle. 44 Thou hast made his brightness to cease, And cast his throne down to the ground. 45 The days of his youth hast thou shortened: Thou hast covered him with shame. [Selah 46 How long, O Jehovah? wilt thou ‘hide thyself for ever? How long shall thy wrath burn like fire? 47 Oh remember how short my time is: For what vanity hast thou created all the children of men! 48 What man is he that shall live and, not see death, That shall deliver his soul from the “power of Sheol? [Selah 30r, One thing MOr, As the moon which is established for ever SOr, And the witness in the sky is faithful 16H eb, hand THE PSALMS 49 Lord, where are thy former loving- reproach of all the “mighty kindnesses, peoples, Which thou swarest unto David in 51 Wherewith thine enemies have re- thy faithfulness? proached, O Jehovah, Wh ith they h hed th 50 Remember, Lord, the reproach of thy pape. Lad epi e C ; ‘ servants; 52 Blessed be Jehovah for evermore. How I do bear in my bosom the Amen, and Amen. NOr, many Vers. 1-52. “THE COVENANT WITH DAVID CONFIRMED. This Psalm Scofield thinks is next in order as Messianic. He says, “It is at once the confirmation and the exposition of the Davidic Covenant, and that the Covenant itself looks far beyond David and Solomon is sure from verse 27: ‘Higher than the kings of earth’ can only refer to King Immanuel.’’ This same description, however, is applied elsewhere to Israel (Ex. 4.22), and to Ephraim (Jer. 31.9), and may with propriety be applied to David himself and successors as well as to Christ (Heb. 1.6), and therefore it will not do to rest the defense of the Messianic interpre- tation of this Psalm upon this ascription and promise alone. The Psalm has, however, been applied prophetically to the suffering Messiah by the ancient and the older English commentators as well as by Wordsworth and others of the more recent times. Jewish commentators have applied it to the miseries of the Jews since the prevalence of Chris- tianity, while Calvin, Stier and others apply it to the afflicted Church, in- asmuch as Christ lives and suffers in His followers. The Psalm, we think, has, as Moll says, a Messianic application only insofar as it was intended to set forth the necessary conflict which was to be waged before the great fundamental promise could be realized. The particular promise insisted upon in this Psalm is that in II Sam. 7, ‘‘which’’, says Alexander, “‘constitutes the basis of all Messianic Psalms.” Scofield says, ‘“The Psalm is in four parts: (1) The Covenant, though springing from the loving kindness of Jehovah, yet rests upon His oath (verses 1-4). (2) Jehovah is glorified for His power and goodness in connection with the Covenant (verses 5-18). (3) The response of Jehovah (verses 19-37). This is in two parts; (a) He confirms the Covenant (verses 19-29), but (b) He warns that disobedience in the royal posterity of David will be punished with chastenings (verses 30-32), Historically this chastening began in the division of the Davidic kingdom and culminated in the captivities and that subordination of Israel to the Gentiles which still continues. (4) The plea of the remnant, who urge the severity and long continuance of the chastening.”’ PSALMS NINETY-THREE TO NINETY-NINE THE RULE OF JEHOVAH AND THE DESTRUCTION OF THE UNBELIEVING y NATIONS. These Psalms constitute a series which celebrate the coming of Jeho- vah as King. The Jewish and many of the older expositors took these Psalms as Messianic, and understood the past tenses as being employed 39 THE.-PSALMS prophetically, and as describing the end of the world and its final judg- ment. The same reason exists for taking one as Messianic as for taking them all in this sense. (See the opening and closing verse of Psalm 94; also Psalm 96.13, and the 97th Psalm, as well as Psalm 98.9.) PSALM ONE HUNDRED TWO 1 Hear my prayer, O Jehovah, And let my cry come unto thee. 2 Hide not thy face from me in the day of my distress: Incline thine ear unto me; In the day when I call answer me speedily. 3, For my days consume away ‘like smoke, And my bones are burned “as a fire- brand. 4 My heart is smitten like grass, and withered ; : For I forget to eat my bread. 5 By reason of the voice of my groan- ing My bones cleave to my. flesh. 6 I am like a pelican of the wilderness; I am become as an owl of the waste places. 7 I watch, and am become like a spar- row That is alone upon the housetop. 8 Mine enemies reproach me all the day; They that are mad against me do curse by me. 9 For I have eaten ashes like bread, And mingled my drink with weep- ing, 10 Because of thine indignation and thy wrath: For thou hast taken me up, and cast me away. 11 My days are like a shadow that *declineth; And I am withered like grass. 12 But thou, O Jehovah, ‘wilt abide for ever; And thy memorial name unto all generations. 13 Thou wilt arise, and have mercy up- on Zion; For it is time to have pity upon her, Yea, the set time is come. 14 For thy servants take pleasure in her stones, And have pity upon her dust. 10Or, in smoke 2Or, as a hearth 8Or, is stretched out 4Or, sittest as Kings 15 So the nations shall fear the name of Jehovah, And all the kings of the earth thy glory. 16 For Jehovah hath built up Zion; He hath appeared in his glory. 17 He hath regarded’ the prayer of the destitute, And hath not despised their prayer. 18 This shall be written for the genera- tion to come; ash And a people which shall be created shall praise “Jehovah. 19 For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary; From heaven did Jehovah behold the earth; 20 To hear the sighing of the prisoner; To loose “those that are appointed to death; 21 That men may declare the name of Jehovah in Zion, And his praise in Jerusalem; 22 When the peoples are gathered to- gether, And the kingdoms, to serve Jehovah. 23 He ‘weakened my strength in the way; : He shortened my days. 24 I said, O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days: Thy years are throughout all genera- tions. ; 25 Of old didst thou lay the foundation of the earth; And the heavens are the work of thy hands. 26 They shall perish, but thou shalt endure; Yea, all of.them shall wax old like a garment; As a vesture shalt thou change them. and they shall be changed: 27 But thou art the same, And thy years shall have no end. 28 The children of thy servants shall continue, And their seed shall be established before thee. 5Heb. Jah ®Heb. the children of death TAnother reading is, afflicted me with his strength Vers. 1-28. “THE HUMILIATION AND THE COMING GLORY OF THE KING. The only reason for considering this Psalm Messianic is that verses 25-27 are in Hebrews 1:11-12 referred to Christ, and consequently a 40 THE PSALMS reasonable ground is furnished for thinking that the preceding verses express for us the exercises of His holy soul in the days of his humiliation and rejection, together with certain prophetic statements of the glory await- ing Him in the time of the consummation of His kingdom. Says Fausset, “‘Hebrews 1.10 quotes verses 25-27 as addressed to Christ in His divine nature. The scope of the Psalm, as already seen, so far from opposing, favors this view, especially by the sentiments of verses 12-15 (compare Isa. 60.1). The association of the Messiah with a day of future glory to the Church was very intimate inj the minds of Old Testament writers, and with correct views of His nature it is very consistent that He should be addressed as the Lord and Head of His Church, who would bring about that glorious future on which they ever dwelt with fond and delightful anticipations.”’ Accordingly Seiss, Blackstone, Morgan, and others of the same school take verse 16, For Jehovah hath built up Zion, as a reference to the second coming of Christ. “The Millennium or universal peace and righteousness, says Seiss, cannot take place before His second coming, but it is to begin when ‘‘He shall appear in His glory’’. ‘‘God does not restore Israel and rebuild Zion,’’ says Blackstone, ‘‘until Christ appears in glory, nor does He build up Zion until He has taken out the Church” (Acts 15.13-17). PSALM ONE HUNDRED TEN 1 Jehovah saith unto my Lord, sit thou at my right hand, Until I make thine enemies thy foot- stool. 2 Jehovah will ‘send forth the *rod of thy strength out of Zion: Rule thou in the midst of thine enemies. 3 Thy people “offer themselves will- ingly ; In the day of thy ‘power, “in holy array: Out of the womb of the morning *Thou hast the dew of thy youth. 10r, stretch *Or, sceptre 8Heb. are freewill-offerings 4Or, army - 5Or, in the beauty of holiness 4 Jehovah hath sworn, and will not repent; Thou art a priest for ever After the ‘order of Melchizedek. 5 The Lord at thy right hand “Will strike through kings in the day of his wrath. 6 He will judge among the nations, "He “will fill the places with dead bodies; He ‘will strike through the head “in many countries. 7 He will drink of the brook in the way: Therefore will he lift up the head. TOr, manner SOr, Hath stricken "Or, The places are full of & ec. WOr, hath filled NOr, over a wide land ®Or, Thy youth are to thee as the dew The explicit application of this Psalm to our Lord by Himself and the Apostles leave us in no doubt as to its purely Messianic character. As Fausset says, ‘“The Psalm celebrates the exaltation of Christ to the throne of an eternal and increasing kingdom, and a perpetual priesthood, involving the subjugation of His enemies and the multiplication of His subjects.” Historically, the Psalm begins with the Ascension of Christ (verse 1); prophetically, it looks on to the time when Christ is to appear as the rod of Jehovah’s strength, the Deliverer out of Zion (verse 2), to the con- version of Israel (verse 3) and on to the judgment upon the Gentile powers (verses 5,6). 41 THE PSALMS Vers. 1-7. “THE KINGDOM, WITH ITs POWER AND GLORY, GIVEN TO THE KING. Ver. 1. “my Lord’’,—i. e., David’s Lord. “The Messiah is meant; so recognized by the Jews of ancient times, and clear not only from their traditions, but from Matt. 22.46. David is here not to be thought of merely as a private person, nor even as an individual king, but as repre- senting his own royal race and the house of Israel over which it reigned. “Sit thou at my right hand’’,—A seat at the right hand of a king implies a participation in his power. ‘The participation in the divine power thus ascribed to Christ is a special and an extraordinary one, having reference to the total subjugation of His enemies. It does not imply in- activity while Jehovah conquered His foes for Him, but it is in and through the Messiah that Jehovah acts for the destruction of His enemies and for that very end He is vested with almighty power, as denoted by His sitting at the right hand of Jehovah. This session is to last until the total sub- jugation of His enemies, and this special and extraordinary power of the Messiah is then to terminate, as Paul puts it in I Cor. 15.24-28, where the verse before us is distinctly referred to, though not expressly quoted. Ver. 2. David now addresses the Messiah directly. “the rod’’,—1. e., of correction and chastisement. “of thy strength’’,—The rod by means of which thy strength is to be exerted. “rule thou in the midst of thine enemies’’,—The verb here used is one not applied to a peaceful rule, but to a coercive one over conquered enemies. Ver. 3. “‘Thy people offer themselves willingly’’,—The reading of the Authorized Version is entirely inadmissible, since the word translated, “willingly’’, is a plural feminine substantative, and cannot agree with the singular noun, “‘people’’. It is the word used to denote freewill offerings or spontaneous gifts under the law of Moses. By supplying the correla- tive verb, ‘‘offer’’, the fine sense of our text is obtained, or as it might be rendered, ‘““Thy people are freewill offerings.’’ “In the day of thy power’’,—The reference is to the day when His > power is displayed in the subjugation of His enemies. “tn holy array’’,—The Authorized rendering is a more literal one, and it may have its obvious spiritual sense as in Psa. 29.2, or it may have the sense of “holy decorations’, with an illusion to the sacerdotal dress which in Lev. 16.4 is expressly called “‘garments of holiness’. This last we prefer with most modern commentators. It then means that when the people make this solemn offering of themselves to Jehovah they appear clothed in sacerdotal vestments, as servants of a priestly King (verse 4), and themselves a “‘kingdom of priests’ (Ex. 19.6.). “womb of the morning’’,—This, says Alexander, is a very strong poetical description of the origin or source of the dew, and the sense of this word ‘‘dew”’ determines that of the whole clause. Dew is a constant emblem of whatever is refreshing and strengthening. Some think the expression refers to the multitude of people or war- riors who devote themselves to the Messiah and who are described as no less numerous than the drops of dew born from the womb of the morning. 402 THE PSALMS Others think the comparison refers to the beauty of Messiah's people. But neither of these figures are common or natural, and the latter is a com- bination not likely to occur to the mind of any writer. Still others think, and doubtless more acceptably, that the clause relates to the perpetual succession of Messiah’s people, the successive gener- ations of which constantly renew His body even as the dew is engendered afresh daily from the womb of the morning, i. e., thy youth, thy body shall be constantly refreshed by successive accessions of people as dew from the early morning. The Messiah, as leading His people, is represented as continually in the vigor of youth, refreshed and strengthened by the early dew of God’s grace and Spirit. Ver. 4. “Jehovah hath sworn and will not repent’’,—There is no fear or even possibility of His breaking or retracting this engagement. “a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek’’,—This likeness con- sists. primarily in the union of the kingly and priestly office, such as was the case with Melchizedek. Ver. 5. Some suppose this verse addressed to Jehovah and ‘‘the Lord”’ to mean the Messiah, on the ground that they could not both be on the right hand of the other. But the whole idea is a figurative one. On the right hand has the same meaning here as in Psa. 109.31, where it de- notes the place of protection or assistance. In one sense therefore Christ is at the right hand of God and in another God is at the right hand of Christ. The day of Jehovah’s wrath is coincident with the day of the Lord’s strength, in verse 3. The strength of the Messiah as a conquerer is to be exerted in giving effect to Jehovah’s wrath against His enemies. Ver. 6. The Messiah is again spoken of here in the third person. “He will judge among the nations’’,—This is another figure for the conquest just described. “He will strike through the head in many countrtes’’,—The Author- ized Version takes both nouns as collective,—‘‘the heads over many coun- tries’. Others make only the first noun collective, ‘“‘the heads over the earth’; while our text takes only the last noun collectively. The expres- sion is obscure, but the general idea is clear enough; it is that of universal conquest on the part of the Messiah, striking down the head, the ruler in all earthly principalities and powers. Ver. 7. “He will drink of the brook in the way’’—The probable meaning of this clause is that He shall not be exhausted like those wander- ing in the desert, but refreshed and strengthened. “Therefore will He lift up the head’’,—The raising of the head is a figure of exhilaration. Is this effect supposed to be produced in the con- queror himself or in others? ‘The first clause of the verse favors the ex- hilaration of himself. In favor of the latter interpretation, however, 1s Psa. 3.4 and 27.6. The interpretations are not, says Alexander, incom- patible or exclusive, and it is best to leave them side by side. “The words doubtless suggested both ideas to the Hebrews. 43 ISAIAH THE BOOK OF ISAIAH (BG 760s BOL oon) The book of Isaiah falls into two chief divisions: I. Chapters 1 to 39, looking toward the Assyrian Captivity. II. Chapters 40 to 66, looking toward deliverance and future blessing. THE FIRST CHIEF DIVISION OF THE BOOK This division may be conveniently arranged in seven sections. Section One.—T he Growth of the Obduracy of the Mass of the People. CHAPTERS 1 TO 6 CHAPTER ONE 9. Except Jehovah of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, we should have | been like unto Gomorrah. JEHOVAH’S CASE AGAINST HIS REBELLIOUS AND UN- GRATEFUL PEOPLE. Vers. 1-24. Ver. 9. “‘a very small remnant’’,—Alexander says, ‘The idea of a desolation almost total is expressed in other words, and with an intimation that the narrow escape was owing to God’s favor for the remnant accord- ing to the election of grace, who still existed in the Jewish Church. “hat the verse has reference to quality as well as quantity is evident from Ro- mans 9.29 where Paul makes use of it, not as an illustration, but as an argument to show that mere connection with the Church could not save men from the wrath of God.” 25 and I will ‘turn my hand upon thee, and “thoroughly purge away thy dross, and will take away all thy ‘tin; 26 and I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as at the be- ginning: afterward thou shalt be called The city of righteousness, a faithful town. 27 Zion shall be redeemed with justice, and “her converts with righteous- ness. 28 But the “destruction of trans- gressors and sinners shall be together, 10r, bring my hand again *Heb. as with lye 8Or, alloy 4Or, they that return of her 5Heb. breaking and they that forsake Jehovah shall! be consumed. 29 For they shall be ashamed of the “oaks which ye have de- sired, and ye shall be confounded for the gardens that ye have chosen. 30 For ye shall be as ‘an oak whose leaf fad- eth, and as a garden that hath no water. 31 And the strong shall be as tow, and his work as a spark; and they shall both burn together, and none shall quench them. %Or, terebinths Or, a terebinth Vers. 25-31. ZION TO BE PURGED AND REDEEMED. Ver. 25. “turn my hand upon thee’’,—This expression is some- times used with the idea of punishment and sometimes with that of mercy. Here both are included, with the emphasis, however, upon the idea of mercy, that is, blessing through purging. 44 ISAIAH “thy dross... thy tin’’,—The reference is here not to sins but to sinful persons who are intermingled with the elect remnant of grace. Ver. 26. Nagelsbach says, ‘‘Regarding the fulfillment of this proph- ecy many have found in it a promise of a return of the days of the Judges, that is, the days of a Jephtha, a Gideon, a Samuel, etc.; others understand the language as referring to the return out of the Babylonian captivity under Zerubbabel, Joshua, Ezra and Nehemiah; others understood it of the restitution of the kingdom, while still others find its fulfillment in the days of the Messiah. But all these explanations are evidently too narrow and one sided. ‘The fulfillment has its degrees. And if Zerubbabel, Ezra and Nehemiah are justly regarded as the representatives of the first feeble beginnings of the great restitution of Israel; if further the Apostles are justly regarded as the founders of a new Zion on a higher plane, still by all this the prophecy is not at all fulfilled. It will only then be fulfilled when the Lord comes ‘into His kingdom’. (Luke 23.42.)” Ver. 27. “‘her converts’’,—This is literally, ‘they that return of her’, and by many it is so rendered (C. Pe. Lut. Del. Sep.). Others, however, and perhaps the majority (F. Al.) take the word in the spiritual sense as meaning those who return to God in true repentance. This is doubtless to be preferred inasmuch as the exile has not ‘yet been men- tioned, although there is no objection to combining both views, as Nagels- bach does. “Zion ’’,—By this word the believing people of God are of course meant. “justice . . . tighteousness’’,—Whose justice and righteousness is meant? (1) That of the acts themselves, i. e., the very same events by which the divine justice was to manifest itself in the destruction of the wicked should be the means of deliverance to the true people of God. (AlI.) (2) That of the people, i. e., the practice of justice and righteous- ness on their part. (Ges., the Rabbins especially, and most modern Ger- man authorities. ) (3) That of the sate and pomeeiors mentioned in verse 26. (Na.) (4) That of God, , God’s righteousness bestowed as a gift of grace on those who escape His punitive wustices SCG. Leis) The first view seems to be the simplest and the most preferable. “his is of course God's justice and righteousness as well, although it is not here used in the New Testament sense as the last view would have us take it. Ver. 29. “the oaks... the gardens’’,—1. e., the groves and enclos- ures for idolatrous worship. “‘they’’,—This may be taken as a reference to men in general (Ges.), or to the Jews of future generations (V.), or it is perhaps better taken as a case of enallage so frequent in Hebrew, i. e., a change of person, and made to refer to the same people as “‘ye’’ in both this verse and the next one. (Al.) This section Scofield calls ‘‘a renewal of the promise of the Pales- tinian Coyenant of future restoration and exaltation”. 45 ISAIAH CHAPTER TWO Introducing the second prophecy, which continues to the end of chapter. This prophecy is set forth in three parts: Mers.o125: 1. The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jeru- 1. “Part one. salem. 2 And it shall come to pass in the latter days, that the mountain of Je- hovah’s house shall be established ‘on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all na- tions shall flow unto it. 3 And many peoples shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of Je- Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths; for out of Zion shall go forth “the law, and the word of Jehovah from Jerusalem. 4 And he will judge “between the na- tions, and will decide concerning many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. 5 O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of Jehovah. "Or, instruction 3Or, among THE PROMISE FOR THE LAST DAYs. hovah, to the house of the God of 1Or, at the head Vers. 1-5. For explanation of these verses see under Micah 4.1-3. Delitzsch says of verses 1-3 that all other fulfillments were but preludes to an end still to be executed, and forming their completion: for there is no fulfill- ment yet of what is predicted in verse 4. Nagelsbach says, “‘As regards the fulfilling of our prophecy, the Prophet himself says that it shall follow in the last time. If.it now began a long time ago; if especially the appearance of the Lord in the flesh, and the founding of His kingdom and the preaching of the Gospel among all nations be an element of that fulfillment, yet it is by no means a closed- up transaction. What it shall yet bring about we know not. If many, especially Jewish expositors, have taken the words too coarsely and out- wardly, so, on the other hand, we must guard against a one-sided spiritual- izing. Certainly the prophets do not think of heaven. Plows and prun- ing hooks have as little to do with heaven as swords and spears. And what has the high place of Mount Zion to do in heaven? ‘Therefore our passage speaks for the view that one time, and that too, here on this earth, the Lord shall appropriate the kingdom, (Chap. 60.21 and Matt. 5.5), suppress the world kingdoms and bring about a condition of peace and glory. That then what is outward shall conform to what is inward, is certain, even though we must confess our ignorance in regard to the ways and means of the realization in particulars.” Seiss says, ‘“The prophet is not describing a gradual evolution in the course of the present dispensation, but connects this happy condition with great convulsive changes—with awful judgment—with the manifest pres- ence of the Lord Himself. Does not verse 10 and what follows signify the personal presence of the Judge? What is this but the Dies trae, of which Thomas of Celano so famously sang? It is the exact parallel of Rev. 6.12-17. And it is only in connection with the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven, ‘with His mighty angels in flaming fire’ that this 46 ISAIAH blessed transformation and sanctification of society and the world is to be wrought.” 2. . Part two.’ Chap. 2.6 to Chap. 4.1, setting forth the actual condition of Israel.and the judgment of the coming day of Jehovah. 10 Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, from before the terror of Jehovah, and from the glory of his majesty. 11 The lofty looks of man shall be brought low, and the haughti- ness of men shall be bowed down, and Jehovah alone shall be exalted in that day. 12 For *there shall be a day of Jeho- vah of hosts upon all that is proud and haughty, and upon all that is lifted up; and it shall be brought low; 13 and up- on all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan, 14 and upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up, 15 and upon every be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be brought low; and Jehovah alone shall be exalted in that day. 18 And the idols shall utterly pass away. 19 And men shall go into the caves of the rocks, and into the holes of the earth, from before the terror of Jeho- vah, and from the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake mightily the earth. 20 In that day men shall cast away their idols of silver, and their idols of gold, which have been made for them to worship, to the moles and to the bats; 21 to go into the caverns of the rocks, and into the clefts of the ragged rocks, from before the terror of Jehovah, and from the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake mightily the earth. 22 Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of? lofty tower, and upon every fortified wall, 16 and upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant *imag- ery. 17 And the loftiness of man shall Or, Jehovah of hosts hath a day “Or, watch-towers Vers. 10-22. “THE JUDGMENT OF THE COMING DAY OF JEHOVAH. Vers. 10. Such being their sin and their guilt they have nothing to do in view of the terror of the judgment Jehovah has prepared for them but to seek a hiding place from His wrath, the day of Jehovah being pic- tured as already come or near at hand. Ver. 11. “tn that day’’,—i. e., the day of Jehovah mentioned in the next verse. In this verse 11 is summed up the result of Jehovah's vindication of Himself “‘in that day” of coming judgment. The prophet has used for the first time in this verse the expression ‘‘in that day,’’ which afterwards occurs so often. He points of course to the time which he had before designated as “‘the last days’. Ver. 12. “the day of Jehovah’ ,—‘‘This day’’, says Nagelsbach, ‘‘is day of judgment, as already even the older prophets portray it: (Joel femme >, 4: Amos 5.18;20)..7 Fausset persists in thinking only or chiefly of the final period of judg- ment time. He says, ‘‘Man has many days; ‘the day of Jehovah’ shall come at last, beginning with judgment, a never-ending day in which God shall be ‘all in all’ (I Cor. 15.28; II Peter 3.10).”’ “upon every thing’’,—The version ‘‘every one’ (E-V. Jun. Sep.) limits the phrase too much to persons, which is but a part of the meaning as conveyed in the expression ‘‘everything’’. (F. V. Al. Na. Del. Ges.) The judgment was to come upon everything in which the nation prided itself. Ver. 13. The prophet now begins to enumerate in pairs all the high things upon which the judgment falls. The cedars and oaks are not to be taken as emblems of great men in general (V. Ges. Jer. Tar.), nor of the great men of Syria and Israel 47 a re ISAIAH (Gro.), nor are they to be applied to the buildings erected by Uzziah and Jotham out of the cedars and oaks grown in the places mentioned (Kn.). They are to be taken not as symbols at all, but as samples or specimens of their class. (AI. Na. Del.) Ver. 14. “‘the high mountains ... the hills’’,-Not the fastnesses to which they had recourse in times of danger (F. Bar.), nor the fortresses erected by Jotham (Kn.), nor the mountaineers of Palestine (Oec.), nor states and governments (Lo.), nor the high places on which sacrifices were unlawfully offered (F.), but merely an additional specification of the gen- eral statement in verse 12. (Al.) Nagelsbach says, ‘‘II Peter 3.10 seems to me to afford the best com- mentary of these last two verses, the high mountains and the hills being names only as representatives of the entire terrestial nature, as also after- wards the towers, the ships of Tarshish, etc., are only representative of human works, and thus also the productions of art.”’ Delitzsch says, ‘““‘What the prophet predicts was already actually be- ginning to be fulfilled in the military inroads of the Assyrians, the cedar forests of Lebanon being unsparingly shorn’, but he says, ‘“This participa- tion of the lower creation in the judgment of God will come into special prominence at the close of this world’s history.’’ He reminds us that Scripture assumes throughout that all nature is joined with man, and is under the influence of sin which proceeds from man and under the wrath and grace which proceed from God to man.” Ver. 15. “upon every lofty tower and fortified wall’’,—A third class of objects with which the idea of strength and loftiness are usually associated. “These are not symbols of military strength (Lo.), nor do they refer to the fortifications built by Jotham and Uzziah (Kn.), although these would doubtless come to mind. Ver. 16. “‘the ships of Tarshish’’,—Suggesting the idea of the largest class of vessels, justly included in this catalogue of lofty and im- posing objects, says Alexander. “upon all pleasant imagery’’,—This seems to be one comprehensive word for all that goes before; all attractive and majestic objects, and not to be limited to “‘pictures’’ (A-V), nor “‘statues’’ (Mic. Ros. Do.), nor. “lofty images or obelisks’’ (Ew.), nor ‘‘tapestry’’ (C.), nor the gay flags of the vessels (Ges.). | Ver. 18. ‘“‘Fulfilled to the letter’’,—-says Fausset, ‘‘after the return from the Babylonian captivity. For the future fulfillment, see Zech. 13.2 and Rev, 13.15: 19:20)" Ver. 19. The fulfillment answering exactly to the threat. “to shake mightily the earth’’,—-A figure of severe and universal judgments. Ver. 20. ‘‘to the moles and to the bats’’,—The idols are cast here not alone that the wicked might facilitate their flight, but because they belong there, to the gnawing beasts of night in all their unclean holes. Ver. 22. An exhortation to renounce all trust in man, man who 1s to be “‘brought low’’ and who is accounted as of little value. : “This verse forms an appropriate transition to the following chapter. 48 ISAIAH CHAPTER. THREE 1 For, behold, the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from -Judah stay and_ staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water; 2 the mighty man, and the man of war; the judge, and the prophet, and the diviner, and the elder; 3 the captain of fifty, and the honorable man, and the counsellor, and the expert ‘arti- ficer, and the skillful enchanter. 4 And I will give children to be their princes, and “babes shall rule over them. 5 And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbor: the child shall be- have himself proudly against the old man, and the base against the honor- able. 6 When a man shall take hold of his brother in the house of his father, saying, Thou hast clothing, be thou our “ruler, and let this ruin be under thy hand; 7 in that day shall he lift up his voice, saying, I will not be “a healer; for in my house is neither bread nor clothing: ye shall not make me ruler of the people. 8 For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen; because their tongue and their doings are against Jehovah. to provoke the eyes of his glory. 9 "The show of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have done evil unto themselves. 10 Say ye of the righteous, that it shall be well with him; for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. 11 Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him; for what his hands have done shall be done unto him. 12 As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, 20r, charmer *Or, with childishness shall they rule over them 3Or, judge *Heb. a binder up 'Or, Their respecting of persons doth &c. they that lead thee cause thee to err, and “destroy the way of thy paths. 13 Jehovah standeth up to contend, and standeth to judge the ‘peoples. 14 Jehovah will enter into judgment with the elders of his people, and the princes thereof: It is ye that have eaten up the vineyard; the spoil of the poor is in your houses: 15 what mean ye that ye crush my people, and grind the face of the poor? saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts. 16 Moreover Jehovah said, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with out-stretched necks and wan- ton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet; 17 therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and Jehovah will lay bare their secret parts. 18 In that day the Lord will take away the beauty of their anklets, and the ‘cauls, and the crescents; 19 the pendants, and the *bracelets, and the mufflers; 20 the head- tires, and the ankle-chains, and the sashes, and the perfume-boxes, and the amulets; 21 the rings, and the nose- jewels; 22 the festival robes, and the mantles, and the shawls, and the satch- els; 23 the hand-mirrors, and the fine linen, and the turbans, and the veils. 24 And it shall come to pass, that in- stead of sweet spices there shall be rot- tenness; and instead of a girdle, a rope; and instead of well set hair, baldness; and instead of a robe, a girding of sack- cloth; branding instead of beauty. 25 Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy “mighty in the war. 26 And her gates shall lament and mourn; and she shall be “desolate and sit upon the ground, SHeb. swallow up Or, peoble SOr, networks °Or, chains WHeb. might UOr, emptied Vers. 1-26. “THE DAY OF JEHOVAH UPON JERUSALEM AND JUDAH. The judgment of Jehovah, which in the previous chapter was pro- claimed more especially in its universal character, is in this chapter referred more especially to Jerusalem and Judah on account of their prevailing iniquities. } Ver. 1. The chapter opens with a general prediction of the loss of that in which they so much trusted, beginning in this first verse with the two indispensible conditions of life, bread and water. This was literally fulfilled in the siege under Nebuchadnezzar and afterwards by the siege of ‘Titus in the days of the Roman empire. 49 ISAIAH Vers. 2-3. Next the supports of the State are to be removed; public men, including civil, military and religious functionaries together with the practitioners of the black art upon whom they relied. Ver. 4. Asa result of the judgment just announced the government falls into weak and incompetent hands. The “‘babes’’ are mentioned. not with respect to age but rather to character, i. e., little children in ability so far as governing capacity goes. Ver. 5. Anarchy, insubordination and confusion naturally result from the regime of such imbecile rulers. Vers. 6-7. At last the people would gladly make a ruler of anyone who in the least rises above the universal wretchedness, who has even so much as the semblance of a respectable garment, but not even such an one is willing to accept office. Vers. 8-9. All this disaster is but the result of their own sin and they have but themselves to blame, for ‘‘they have done evil unto them- selves’. Vers. 10-11. But God’s judgments are not indiscriminate; it shall be well with the righteous but ill with the wicked. Ver. 12. Then comes a resume, the whole course of thought from verses 1 to 11 being comprehended again, while the prophet expresses won- der and concern at the result of the nation’s unworthy and incapable rulers. Ver. 13. Here, says Delitzsch, ‘the judgment of the world comes anew before the prophet’s mind.’’ With this agrees Nagelsbach, who says that ‘‘here we are introduced into quite another moment of time, the judg- ment of the nations, not, however, the judging of the nations generally, but only the judgment of the people of God as a part of the universal judgment, and then too not of the nation in its totality, but of the de- stroyers of this totality, the princes and the elders, as seen in the following verse.” “standeth up’’,—1. e., ready and prepared for instant execution of the judgment. “to plead’’,—The word means to conduct a cause for another or for one’s self, and is here to be taken in the sense of accuse. God stands—the Accuser and Judge and Executioner in one Person. Vers. 14-15. In these verses the Lord’s accusation turns especially upon the incompetent and faithless rulers who have become the spoilers of His vineyard instead of its guardians, and the oppressors of the people instead of their protectors. Vers. 16-24. The prophet breaks off in the midst of his descrip- tion of the judgment-scene and threatens the women with punishment, privation and disgrace as one of the principal causes of the prevailing evils because of the pride of their hearts, their luxury and extravagant ornamen- tation and outward conduct. Vers. 25-26, and Chap. 4.1. Among the agencies in this retribu- tion is a disastrous war by which the men of the land are so reduced in numbers that the unnatural state of things will be brought about wherein women will not be sought by men but the men by the women. 50 ISAIAH 3. Part three. Chap. 4.2 to 6, reverting to the safe and glorious condition of the future kingdom. CHAR LERIFOUR 2 In that day shall the *branch of Jehovah be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the “land shall be *excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel. 3 And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written ‘among the living in Jerusalem; 4 when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem 10Or, shoot Or, sprout 2Or, earth from the midst thereof, by the “spirit of justice, and by the “spirit of burning. 5 And Jehovah will create over “the whole habitation of mount Zion, and over her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory shall be spread a covering. 6 And there shall be a pavilion for a shade in the daytime from the heat, and for a refuge and for a covert from storm and from rain. 5Or, blast "Or, every dwelling place 8Or, missing. 4Or, unto life Vers. 2-6. “THE GLORIOUS CONDITION OF THE FUTURE KINGDOM. Ver. 2. The division of this and the previous chapter is plainly wrong, for verse | is the closing one of the prophecy against the women as found in the previous chapter. “In that day’’,—This is the same day as that mentioned in verse 1 and refers back to ‘‘the last days’’ of Chap 2.2, as well as to the calamitous times between, on the ground of course that this is all one prophecy, which Alexander says is now universally accepted, even by the modern Germans. Delitzsch says, ‘“The prophet now proceeds to describe the one great day of God at the end of time in its leading features, as beginning with judgment but bringing deliverance. There are those, however, who contend that these chapters contain a series of detached prophecies between the beginning and the closing sec- tions, the latter part of Chap. 2 referring to the great judgment of the closings days, while Chap. 3, they maintain, refers to pre-Messianic times. (Na. Ei. Kop. Ber.) “the branch of Jehovah” and “‘the fruit of the land’’,— 1. These are doubtless two names for the Messiah, denoting perhaps His divine and human origin. (V.F. Al. La. Um. Ros. Dre. Cas. mie el. Lari:Hen: Cha, Strac. ) 2. Others say the two expressions are synonomous for the produce of the earth. (Ma. Ew. Hof. Hit.) But; (a) This is incongruous with the predicates, honorable, glorious, sublime, beautiful. (b) It is precluded by the addition of the name Jehovah. (c) The parallel breaks down because the relation between the branch and Jehovah must be the same as that between te fruit and the land. (d) It is quite unsuited for forming a contrast that would .quite outshine the worldly glory hitherto prevailing. 51 ISAIAH 3. Others say the first phrase means spiritual gifts of God in con- ie ‘i opposition to temporal and earthly gifts.”’ (C. Ju. Na. Schl. (a) But the last phrase means the offspring of the earth and so must the first one mean the offspring of Jehovah, and this expression can only be applied to persons. “them that are escaped of Israel’’,—Fausset quite aptly remarks that this finds its fulfillment after the fashion of concentric circles, the reference being to the elect remnant (Rom. 11.5), (1) in the return from Babylon, (2) in the escape from Jerusalem’s destruction under Titus, and (3) in the still future assault on Jerusalem and the deliverance of the ‘“‘third part’. Ver. 3. “‘he that ts left in Zion... . that remaineth in Jerusalem’ ,— e., the “escaped of Israel’ of verse 2, the remnant of grace, says Delitzsch. “shall be called holy’’,—He shall not only be hoiy but shall be recog- nized as such. “written among the living in Jerusalem’’,—The marginal reading, we think, carries the idea somewhat better. “The verb has in it the idea of “written as destined for’’, and there is always the presupposition of a divine “Book of Life.” (CC. ViDONa Al JuyiMn' UUme Ew elo bet acer Mic. Ges. Hen. Cle.) Fausset says it refers primarily to the register kept of the Jewish families and antitypically to the Book of Life, as in Phil. 4.3 and Rev. 3.5. Ver. 4. “daughters of Zion’’,—The women before mentioned (F. Al. Del.), and not the other towns of Judah (Um. Ros. Hen.). “blood of Jerusalem’, i. e., the bloodguiltiness of Jerusalem, of the people in general, especially the rulers. “by the spirit’’,—The word should be capitalized, the reference being to the Holy Spirit (C. Al. Ew. Del. Lut.), and not to “‘influence’’ (Ges. Hen.) nor to ‘breath’? (Um.). Ver. 5. The presence of God, here denoted by the ancient symbol of a fiery cloud, is promised to the Israelites of the final redemption-days. “over all the glory’’,—1. e., that previously mentioned. “a covering’ ,—A promise of refuge and security. (Al. Um. Ew. Hen. Del.) Alexander looks for the complete fulfillment of this prophecy not, as he says, ‘“‘in the literal Mount Zion or Jerusalem, but in those various assemblies or ‘societies of true believers which now possess in common the privileges once exclusively enjoyed by the Holy City and the chosen race.’ But that there is as well a further and more remote reference in the prophecy, as the majority maintain, can scarcely be denied. CHAPTER FIVE ISRAEL TO REAP THE FRUIT OF HER DISOBEDIENCE. A new prophecy, entire in itself, being the concluding discourse of the first cycle of prophecy and containing a description of the prevalent iniquities of Israel and the judgments which had been or were to be inflicted on the people in consequence. 52 ISAIAH Vers. 1-7. The prophet represents Israel as a vineyard from which the Lord had expected the fruits of righteousness, but it had brought forth bad fruit. Vers. 8-24. What sort of bad fruit is seen in a sixfold woe which is pronounced upon the people. Vers. 25-30. The devastation foretold is seen first in a figurative description of a violent stroke of God’s hand, and then in the shape of an invading army before whom Israel disappears, as it were, in total darkness. Nagelsbach says, ““The prophecy finds its fulfillment in all the catastrophes that brought foreign powers against Israel, from the Assyrians to the Romans,’’ and with this Delitzsch and practically all others are in agreement. Nagelsbach furthermore refers the expression, “in that day’’ in verse SOmporigerOeG Napali | 7.208.716; 4. land, 4.2, and says,’ that hereby is intimated that this prophecy too, shall be fulfilled in the ‘last Fe SP days’. It should, however, by no means be thought necessary to always throw the reference in the expression, “in that day’’ to the end-time; in this particular instance it quite appropriately refers to the time in which the events of the immediately preceding verses are to take place, and the primary reference of these is without doubt to the besieging armies of the Assyrians. CHAPTER SIX The Inaugural Vision of the Prophet. 11 Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until cities be waste without inhabitant, and houses without man, and the land become utterly waste, 12 and Jehovah have removed men far away, and the forsaken places be many in the midst of the land. 13 ‘And if 1Or, but yet in it shall be a tenth, and it there be yet a tenth in it, it also shall in turn be “eaten up: as a terebinth, and as an oak, “whose ‘stock remaineth, when they “are felled; so the holy seed is the stock thereof. “Or, burnt 3Or, whose substance is in them 4Or, substance shall return, and shall be eaten up 5Or, cast their leaves Vers. 11-13. “THE ELECT REMNANT THE GUARANTEE OF A NEW LIFE AND A NEW GLORIOUS FUTURE. Ver. 11. “Lord, how long’’,—Not how long must he be the bearer of this thankless message (Hit.), but how long shall the blindness of his people continue. (F. Al.) “antil cities be waste’, etc.,—Grotius supposes the allusion is to Sen- nacherib’s invasion, while Clericus and Kimchi think it is to that of Nebuchadnezzar; but as the foregoing description is repeatedly applied in the New Testament to the Jews who were contemporaneous with our Saviour, the threatening must be equally extensive and is equivalent to saying that the land shall be completely wasted not at one time but repeatedly, as Alexander says. 53 ISAIAH Ver. 12. “the forsaken places be many’’,—The literal rendering is, ‘great shall be that which is left in the land’. The reference, however, is to the land itself (PF. Al. Del.), and it does not mean therefore that “many ruins’ shall be left (Ges.), nor a ‘“‘great vacancy” (Ew.), nor that those left in the land shall be multiplied (Sep. Vul.). Ver. 13. According to Isaiah not all Israel, but the elect remnant alone is destined to salvation. “in turn’’,—This is better than “‘return” of the Authorized Ver- sion; the tenth left in the land could hardly, says Alexander, be described as ee to it. “whose stock remaineth’’,—The word for “‘stock’’ is SA; trans- lated;**‘substatice:'}'1.e., vitality. CAI. )35 ‘stump. GNa)s sap =aelaree “root. (Ds), “trunk (Ges:) > gerni —~" CHita) eistocks “(Foca see re etymology of the word and the connection seem to favor “‘substance’’. The thought is the same. ‘The stock of the tree when felled of course contains this substance, this vitality, etc. “the holy seed ts the stock thereof’’,—The remnant of the tenth is the stock or the substance from which the nation is to be renewed. “However frequently’, says Alexander, “‘the people may seem to be destroyed, there shall still be a surviving remnant, a tenth, and however frequently this very remnant may appear to perish, there shall still be a remnant of the remnant left and this indestructible residuum shall be the holy seed, the elect remnant according to grace (Romans 11.5).” “There is nothing tougher than the life of this everlasting Jew.” Section Two. The Assyrian Oppression and the Coming Messiah. > CHAPTERS 7 TO 12. Chapters 7 to 12 deal only with the deliverance of Judah from Syria and Israel; the subsequent subjection of Judah to Assyria and other foreign powers; the final destruction of Judah's enemies, and the advent of the Messianic kingdom. CHAP TERVEIGH I 9 ‘Make an uproar, O ye peoples, and be broken in pieces; and give ear, all ye of far countries; gird yourselves, and be broken in pieces; gird yourself and be broken in pieces. 1Or, Break, O ye Ver. 9. THE ENEMIES OF JUDAH TO BE BROKEN IN PIECES. The prophecy refers primarily to the attack of Rezin and Pekah. Fausset and Horsley think, ‘‘It probably looks on also to the final con- spiracy of Antichrist and his supporters against the Heir of David's throne in the latter days and to their overthrow.’’ There is, however, no sufficient reason for finding such a reference in connection with the passage under discussion. 54 ISATAH CHAPTER NINE. The calamity predicted is not to be perpetual. 1 *But there shall be no gloom to her that was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali; but in the latter time hath he made it glorious by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, *Galilee of the nations, 2 The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwelt in the land of the “shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. 3 Thou hast multiplied the nation, *thou hast in- creased their joy: they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. 4 For the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his 1Or, For “Or, the district 8Or, deep darkness oppressor, thou hast broken as in the day of Midian. 5 For “all the armor of the armed man in the tumult, and the garments rolled in blood, shall be for burning, for fuel of fire. 6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called ‘Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, ‘Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his gov- ernment and of peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to establish it, and to up- hold it with justice and with righte- ousness from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of Jehovah of hosts will per- form this. 5Or, every boot of the booted warrior 6Or, Wonderful Counsellor "Heb. Father of Eternity *Another reading is, thou didst not increase the joy. Vers. 1-7. THE BIRTH AND REIGN OF THE KING OF PEACE. Ver. 1. “her that was tn anguish’’,—1i. e., Judah. “the land of’’, etc..—TVhe same region is described first by the tribes which occupied it, and then by its relative position with respect to the river Jordan and the sea, i. e., the sea of Galilee. The country formerly most debased was to receive peculiar honor, as explained in the next verse. “But’’,—Some take the last verse of the preceding chapter as the beginning of the promise and so translate this word ‘‘For’’. (Al. Mi. Ma. Hit. Hen. Del.) It is, however, less abrupt to take the preceding words as a threat and translate with our text as ““But’’. (Na. Ew. Ros. Ges.) “in the latter time’’,—i. e., in Messianic times. Ver. 2. “‘The people’’,—i. e., the Galileans just mentioned. (V. Al. Na. Ju. Mic. Hend.) The reference is not then to all Israel (Ma.), nor to Judah (C. Kim.), nor to the people of Jerusalem (Gro.), nor yet to the people of God, the spiritual Israel (Coc.). Of course the reference is extended to the whole of Israel. The light came by way of Galilee where Christ first and most publicly exercised His ministry. “The verse is descrip- tive of a great change from ignorance and misery to illumination and enjoyment. Ver. 3. “Thou hast multiplied the nation’’,—The reference here is to Israel, i. e., to Israel in general, that had melted down to a small remnant after their return from captivity. (F. Na. Del. Hit.) “they joy before thee’’,—This is to be taken as holy joy, in the sense of religious worship. (V.F. Al. Ew. Coc. Hit. Hen. Del.) Ver. 4. The reason for this holy joy. “thou hast broken’’,—The past is here used for the future in prophetic vision and expresses the certainty of the event. 55 ISAIAH “‘his’’,—Not the oppressor’s (Bar. For.), but Israel’s, the nation’s. ‘“‘as in the day of Midian’’,—1i. e., when Gideon overthrew Midian, suddenly, totally and with the miraculous help of heaven, the reference being to that wonderful display of divine power which took place in the same part of the land to which this prophecy refers. That this prediction refers primarily to the times of the coming Messiah is evidenced beyond doubt by content of verse 6. Alexander says, ‘This promise was not fulfilled in the deliverance of the Jews from Babylon (C.), nor in the destruction of Sennacherib’s army (Gro.), nor in the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus (Mi.), but it was fulfilled in the glorious deliverance of the Gentiles (the first converts to Christianity) and of all who with them made up the true Israel, from the heavy burden of the covenant of works, the galling yoke of the Mosaic law, the service of the Devil, and the bondage of corruption.” Many authorities, on the other hand, think we are warranted in seeing with Fausset and others a reference in these verses to the days of the final Antichrist. Fausset says, ‘“The deliverance referred to was not only that of Ahaz and Judah from the Assyrian tribute (II Kings 16.8) and of Israel (the ten tribes) from the oppressor (II Kings 15.19), but of the Jewish Christian Church from its last great enemy. As Gideon, with a handful of men conquered the Midian hosts, so Messiah and the small Israel under Him shall overthrow the mighty hosts of the Anti- christ, containing the same contrast, and alluding also to the ‘Assyrian’, the then enemy of the Church, as here in Isaiah the type of the last great enemy. Horsley says, “The prophet sees in a vision a shifting scene compre- hending at one glance the history of the Christian Church to the remotest times—a land dark and thinly peopled—lit up by a sudden light—filled with new inhabitants—then struggling with difficulties and again deliv- ered by the utter and final overthrow of their enemies.”’ Again we are confronted with the question of a spiritual or literal interpretation. Ver. 5. “rolled in blood’’,—Not merely dyed (Hit.), but stained with the blood of conflict. “for fuel of fire’’,——Fire is mentioned merely as a powerful consum- ing agent to express the abolition of the implements of war. ‘The com- plete fulfillment of the prediction, says Alexander, will only be when the lion and the lamb lie down together. Ver. 6. The child here predicted refers of course to Christ. By many it is explained to be Hezekiah (Ja. Kim. Gro. Pau, Ges. Hens. Hend.). But this is exegetical helplessness of a pathetic sort, and the view is even rejected by such modern Germans as Eichorn, Umbreit, Ewald and Hitzig. Ver. 7. “‘peace’’",-The Hebrew word denotes not only peace as opposed to war, but welfare and prosperity. The angel choir proclaiming His birth sang of this peace and good will. “there shall be no end’’,—1. e., it is to be both universal and eternal. 56 ISAIAH “upon the throne of David’’,—The Prince was to be a descendant of David. “judgment’’,—i. e., righteous government. ‘justice’ ,—1i. e., righteousness which He practices and transmits to the members of His kingdom. CHAPTER TEN Vers. 1-4. The prophet first completes his picture of the prevailing iniquity of his people and then threatens as a punishment the death and deportation which is to come through the invasion of the Assyrian army. Vers. 5-19. The predicted judgment of Jehovah upon Assyria who has been but a rod in His hand for the chastisement of Israel. Vers. 20-23. 20 And it shall come to pass in that God. 22 For though thy people, day, that the remnant of Israel, and they Israel, be as the sand of the sea, only a that are escaped of the house of Jacob, remnant ‘of them shall return: a de- shall no more again lean upon him that struction is determined, overflowing smote them, but shall lean upon Jeho- with righteousness. 23 For a full end, vah. The Holy One of Israel, in truth. and that determined, will the Lord, 21 A remnant shall return, even the Jehovah of hosts, make in the midst of remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty all the “earth. 1Heb. zm 2 "Or, land Vers. 20-23. “THE BELIEVING REMNANT RESTORED. Ver. 20. “tn that day’’,—1i. e., in the day when the destruction of Assyria just foretold has taken place. ‘‘The prediction, however,’’ says Alexander, ‘‘although it began then to be fulfilled did not receive its final fulfillment before Christ’s appearance.”’ Scofield refers the expression to “‘the day of the Lord,” and says, ‘“The prophecy here passes from the general to the particular, from historic and fulfilled judgments upon Assyria to the final destruction of all Gentile world-power at the return of the Lord in glory.’’ The vision here, he says, is that of the Jewish remnant in the great tribulation. “the remnant of Israel’’,—The reference is to those who shall be left after the invasion of the Assyrian army, although in keeping with the idea of continuous fulfillment it must refer, as Alexander says, as well to those left after the Babylonian captivity and as well to the remnant ac- cording to the election of grace. (Romans 11.5.) Fausset says, “‘Fulfilled in part in the days of pious Hezekiah; but from the future aspect under which Paul in Romans 9.27,28 regards the prophecy, the ‘remnant’ who ‘stay upon the Lord’ probably will receive their fullest realization in the portion of the Jews left after the Antichrist shall have been overthrown, who shall ‘return to the Lord’. (Zeph. 3.12; ection) 259-1 0,,) "7 “lean upon him’’,—1i. e., upon the Assyrian, who here stands also as the representative of foreign help in general. Ver. 21. ‘“‘The remnant shall return’ ,—Fausset remarks, ‘‘As the Assyrians in the reign of Sennacherib did not carry Judah (the house of a, ISAIAH Jacob) away captive, the returning remnant cannot mainly refer to this time.”’ : Alexander says, “‘It really means those who should survive God's judgments threatened in this prophecy, not merely the Assyrian invasion or the Babylonian captivity, but the whole series of remarkable events including the destruction and the dispersion of the nation by the Romans under Titus.”’ Ver. 22. “For though thy people be’’,—(Lut. Ges. Bar.) Others prefer ‘‘shall be,’’ as referring to the ancient promise of Gen. 13.16 (C. Lo. Al. Coc.), while still others (D. Ew. Um. Hit. Del. Aug. Hend.) render, “For even if thy people were’. “thy people’’,—The whole race, and neither Judah nor Israel alone. “a destruction is determined’’,—i. e., of the majority of them. “righteousness’’,—The meaning is not that of “piety’’ or “‘virtue”’ (C. Gro.), but rather that of retributive and punitive justice. (F. V. Al. Ma. Del.) Ver. 23. “a full end’”’,—i. e., a thorough destruction or con- sumption. “all the earth’’,—The judgment is to be a universal one of which that on Israel is a central constituent. Vers. 24-27. Now comes a renewed prediction of severe judgment upon Assyria like that which came on Midian at Oreb and on Egypt at the Red Sea. Vers. 28-32. Scofield would have us believe that these verses de- scribe the approach of the Gentile hosts to the battle of Armageddon, but this appears as somewhat strained, and it is much simpler to take this section as describing the march of the Assyrians under ‘Sennacherib against _ Jerusalem. (F,. Na. Al. Del.) This latter may, however, serve as a type of the former. Vers. 33-34. These verses relate doubtless to the destruction of Sennacherib’s army, rather than to the destruction of the Gentile hosts. under the Beast as described in Revelation 19.20, as Scofield would have us take it. CHAP LERTELEVEN 1 And there shall come forth a shoot ness shall he judge the poor, and decide out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch with equity for the meek of the “earth; out of his roots shall bear fruit. 2 And and he shall smite the ‘earth with the the Spirit of Jehovah shall rest upon rod of his mouth; and with the breath him, the spirit of wisdom and under- of his lips shall he slay the wicked. 5° standing, the spirit of counsel and And righteousness shall be the girdle of might, the spirit of knowledge and of his waist, and faithfulness the girdle of the fear of Jehovah. 3 And ‘his “de- his loins. light shall be in the fear of Jehovah; 6 And the wolf shall dwell with the and he shall not judge after the sight lamb, and the leopard shall lie down of his eyes, neither decide after the hear- with the kid; and the calf and the young ing of his ears; 4 but with righteous- lion and the fatling together; and a mite shall be of quick understanding 3Or, land "Heb. scent 58 ISAIAH little child shall lead them. 7 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8 And the suckling child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. 9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea. 10 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the root of Jesse, that stand- eth for an ensign of the peoples, unto him shall the nations seek; and his rest- ing-place shall be ‘glorious. 11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord *will set his hand again the second time to “recover the remnant of his people, that shall re- main, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the “islands of the "Heb. glory "Or, will again the second time recover with sea. 12 And he will set up an ensign for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. 13 The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and they that vex “Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim. 14 And they shall fly down upon the shoulder of the Philistines on the west; together shall they despoil the children of the east: they shall put forth their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them. 15 And Je- hovah will ‘utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his scorching wind will he wave his hand over the River, and will smite it into seven streams, and cause men to march over dryshod. 16 And there shall be a highway for the remnant of his people, that shall remain, from Assyria; like as there was for Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt. 5Or, ix Judah ®Heb. devote his hand 8Or, purchase See Ex. 15, 16. AG yr coast-lands Vers. 1-16. THE KINGDOM OF DAVID AND How IT WILL BE ESTAB- LISHED. ‘This chapter,’ says Scofield, ‘is a prophetic picture of the glory of the future kingdom. ‘This is the kingdom announced by John the Bap- tist as ‘at hand’. It was then rejected, but will be set up when David's Son returns in glory. ‘That nothing of this occurred at the first coming of Christ is evident from a comparison of the history of the times of Christ with this and all other parallel prophecies. So far from regathering dis- persed Israel and establishing peace in the earth, His crucifixion was soon followed by the destruction of Jerusalem, and the utter scattering of the Palestinian Jews amongst the nations of the world.”’ Ver. 1. “the stock of Jesse’’,—The reference is to the “‘stump”’ (F. Al. Del.), showing the depressed state of the house of David. It should not therefore be translated “‘seed’’ (Ab.), nor ‘‘root’’ (Sep.), nor “trunk’’ (Ges. Hit. Hend.). Jesse is used here instead of David to inti- mate perhaps that David’s stock will be reduced to its rank previous to the sai of David when it was only the stock of the obscure citizen of Beth- lehem. The reference is not to Hezekiah (Ab. Hend.), because he was already born, and his house was not in the condition here described. Nor is the reference to Zerubbabel, nor to the Maccabees, who were not even descend- ants of Jesse, nor to an ideal Messiah (D. Ei. Ew. Hit. Ges. Bau. Ros.), but to Jesus Christ. Ver. 2. “the Spirit of Jehovah’’,—The general designation of the self-same Spirit afterwards described in detail, He being the author of what 59 ISAIAH thus rests upon Christ. It is an old opinion that the seven Spirits of Revelation have reference to the seven Spirits of this verse. Ver. 3. “his delight’’,—The Hebrew word means to delight in the odor of a thing, literally to “‘scent’’, and the meaning is that the fear of the Lord is fragrance to Him. “he shall not judge’, etc..—His decisions shall not rest upon mere external appearances or hearsay. Ver. 4. “the breath of his lips’’,—This has been taken to mean a sentence of death (Coc. Hit. Cle. Hend.), as a natural expression of anger (D. Ges.) , as a secret influence producing conviction (V. Aba. Kim.), but the proper thought seems to be that a word of his mouth, or a mere breath, as something even less than a word, is sufficient to effect His purpose. (C. Al. Ew.) | Fausset says, ‘“The everlasting deliverance under the Messiah’s reign spoken of in this chapter refers not merely to His first coming but chiefly to His second coming. It implies that the earth will be very wicked when He shall come to judge and reign. His reign shall therefore be ushered in with judgments upon the apostates. He, as the word of God, comes to strike that blow which shall decide His claim to the kingdom, previously usurped by Satan and the Beast to whom Satan delegates his power. It will be a day of judgment to the Gentile dispensation as the first coming was to the Jews.” Alexander says, “‘Paul in I Thess. 2.8 applies these words with little change to the destruction of Antichrist at the second coming of Christ. It does not follow, however, that this is a specific and exclusive prophecy of that event, but only that it comprehends it, as it evidently does.”’ Ver. 6. This and the next two verses have been taken in three dif- ferent-ways: 1. As literal, but only a beautiful dream and wish never to be real- ized. Rationalistic interpreters. 2. “‘A literal change in the relation of animals to man and to each other, restoring the state in Eden, is the most likely interpreta- One wae 3. As wholly metaphorical, describing the peace to be enjoyed by God’s people under the new dispensation. (C. V. Al. Hen. Del. Lut. Schm., and the early Fathers. ) One of the advocates of this last view (Naylor) remarks, ‘‘Any one with physiological knowledge of the difference between the structure of herbivorous and carnivorous animals, or with any knowledge of dentistry, will at once see that the lion could no more eat straw like an ox than he could fly to the moon; even if. his teeth were changed so that he could masticate the straw, it would prove fatal to him, since he could by ‘no means digest or assimilate it. This is simply a figure of the peace that would come to humanity as a result of Christ’s coming as a Saviour into the world. It is true now.” Campbell Morgan, however, remarks concerning these verses, ‘“You cannot spiritualize that passage. It is a plain statement of the fact that, under the sway of the Redeemer, the ferocity of wild beasts shall depart, and nature itself shall feel the blessed influence of the reigning Prince of 60 ISAIAH Peace. I have been asked whether this Golden Age will be marked by dietetic abstinence from flesh. While I do not believe in vegetarianism for today, except under certain conditions, I may express the belief that nature itself will then be free from everything that savours of cruelty; for ‘they shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain’. Certain it is that the lower animals will be vegetarians, for ‘The lion shall eat straw like rE ss 6 an ox’, (See Nagelsbach in Lange’s Commentary on Isaiah, page 163.) Ver. 8. “the hole of the asp’’,—The word “hole’’ as well as the word “‘den”’ properly denotes a cavity admitting light and no doubt the reference in each case is to the beautiful eye of the serpent and the cockatrice. Ver. 9. “my holy mountain”’,—i. e., Mount Zion, and Jerusalem in particular, “for j—4. ¢., because, Ver. 10. “a root of Jesse’’,—The literal is ‘“‘root-sprout’’; it is the root of Jesse, now under ground, as it were. “the nations’’,—1. e., the Gentiles. “his resting place shall be glorious’’,—The reference is not to the rest (A-V) which He gives to His people, but to His residence, the place where He resides, in which He dwells, 1. e., His Kingdom. Ver. ll. “‘set his hand a second time to recover the remnant’’,— ‘The remnant here refers to those living at the time the deliverance takes place, or more restrictedly to the remnant according to grace. (C. Al.) “a second time’’,—'‘‘Therefore’’, says Fausset, ‘‘the coming restora- tion of the Jews is to be distinct from that after the Babylonian captivity, and yet to resemble it. The first restoration was literal; therefore shall the second be; the latter, however, to be much more universal as is here implied.”’ Thus also Blackstone who says, ‘‘In the first restoration only those who were minded came back from Babylon (Ezra 7.13); but in the future. or second restoration, not one will be left. (Deut. 30.4; Isa. 43.5-7; Ezek. 34.11-13; Ezek. 39.28-29.) In the first restoration it was members of the two tribes who returned; in the second, or future restoration it will be both the two and the ten tribes. (Jer. 3.18; Ezek. 36.10; 37.15-22.) At the first restoration they returned to be overthrown and driven out again; but in the second they shall return to remain, no more to go out. (Amos OMlorals zeke +. 20;418a, 00,15,16; 49.22,235.Mici.4.1,2 3 Zech. 8.20-23:; 14.16.) In the first restoration, because of their blindness they rejected and crucified Jesus; but in the future restoration they shall repent of all this and have clean hearts and accept Christ who shall be their Saviour. Aree ehO0-1 4s, Jere3.1.9710:33% Ezek:.36:24-28; 37.23-27;.34.23,24; ere 2313760.) ; Scofield remarks here, ‘‘Comment upon a passage so explicit should be superfluous. I will ask you only to note that the prophet declares the restoration here predicted to be the ‘second’; that it cannot refer to the partial restoration under Ezra and Nehemiah, from the Babylonian cap- tivity, because, first, it is not a deliverance from Assyria only, but the regathering of a world-wide dispersion, and, second, because both Israel (the ten tribes) and Judah are gathered. Ezra and Nehemiah, as is well known, led back only a remnant of Judah with a few Levites.”’ 61 ISAIAH Alexander says, “‘It is not second in reference to the return from Babylon, but to the deliverance from Egypt. The complete fulfillment is to be expected only when all Israel shall be saved. The dispersion spoken of was not merely such as had taken place already at the date of the pre- diction (Ges.), but others still in the future (Hen.), including not only the Babylonian exile, but the present dispersion.”’ The countries mentioned are put for all in which the Jews should be scattered. The event prefigured is, according to Fausset, Keith and many others, the still future return of the Jews to Palestine, while by others (C. V. Hen.) it is their admission to Christ’s kingdom on repentance and the reception of the Christian faith. Alexander thinks the prediction must be figuratively understood because the nations mentioned in this verse have long since ceased to exist. Ver. 12. ‘‘nations’’,—The Gentile nations, not especially those holding captive the Jews, as if calling them to release the captives and assist them in returning, but the call shall be to Gentile nations in general to come themselves. “the outcasts of Israel’’,—The dispersed of the ten tribes are so called because they have been longer and more utterly cast away. Ver. 13. “they that vex Judah’’,—i. e., those in Ephraim. “That this prediction was not fulfilled in the return from exile is sufficiently notorious: That it had not been fulfilled when Christ came is plain from the continued enmity between the Jews, the Samaritans and the Galileans. “The only fulfillment it has ever had is in the abolition of all national and sectional distinctions in the Christian Church. Its full accomplishment is yet to come in the reunion of the tribes under Christ CEOs ss) Lysate) Ver. 14. “‘the children of the east’’,—1i. e., the Arabians. Ver. 15. “‘the tongue of the Egyptian sea’’,—This is the narrow gulf in which the Red Sea terminates to the northwest near Suez through which the Israelites passed when they left Egypt. “with his scorching wind’’,—Literally, “‘in the glowing puff of His breath.” “smite tt into seven streams’ ,—1. e., the River Euphrates to be divided into many smaller ones, as Cyrus divided the Gyndes, so as to be easily forded. Egypt and Assyria were the two greatest powers from which Israel had suffered and from which she was yet to be delivered, and the thought emphasized here is that all obstacles to return shall be removed, and this is set forth by strong figures drawn from the earliest history of the Israelites. Ver. 16. © The fulfillment of this and the other verses has been sought by some in the return from Babylon; by others in the general progress of the Gospel, and by others still in the future restoration of the Jews. The return from Babylon was of course only a partial fulfillment, but against the last named view Alexander urges the figurative expressions of the destroying the tongue of the Red Sea, etc. 62 ISAIAH CHAPTER TWELVE This is a Thanksgiving hymn of the restored and converted Jews. Scofield and many others think it belongs to the time of the Millennial kingdom, but this of course depends upon the view that one takes of the preceding chapter, as it is quite certain that the expression ‘‘in that day”’ makes it contemporaneous with the same expression in that chapter. Section Three. Prophecies Concerning the Heathen; Their Judgment and Their Salvation. CHAPTERS 13 TO 23 CHAPTER THIRTEEN 1 The ‘burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz did see. 2 Set ye up an ensign upon the bare mountain, lift up the voice unto them, wave the hand, that they may go into the gates of the nobles. 3 I have com- manded my consecrated ones, yea, I have called my mighty men for mine anger, even “my proudly exulting ones. 4 The noise of a multitude in the mountains, as of a great people! the noise of a tumult of the kingdoms of the nations gathered together! Jehovah of hosts is mustering the host for the battle. 5 They come from a far coun- try, from the uttermost part of heaven, even Jehovah, and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land. 6 Wail ye; for the day of Jehovah is at hand; as destruction from ‘the Al- mighty shall it come. 7 Therefore shall all hands be feeble, and every heart of man shall melt: 8 and they shall be dismayed; *pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman in travail: they shall look in amazement one at another; their faces shall he faces of flame. 9 Behold, the day of Jehovah cometh,. cruel, with wrath and fierce anger; to make the land a desolation, and to destroy the sinners thereof out of it. 10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light; the sun shall be darkened in its going forth, and the moon shall not cause its light to shine. 11 And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity: and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the 10r, oracle concerning 2Or, them that exult in my majesty 3Heb. Shaddai. See Gen. 17.1. ‘Or, they shall take hold of pangs and sor- rows. 63 terrible. 12 I will make a man more rare than fine gold, even a man than the pure gold of Ophir. 13 Therefore | will make the heavens to tremble, and the earth shall be shaken out of its place, in the wrath of Jehovah of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger. 14 And it shall come to pass, that as the chased °roe, and as sheep that no man gathereth, they shall turn every man to his own people, and shall flee every man to his own land. 15 Every one that is found shall be thrust through; and every one that is “taken shall fall by the sword. 16 Their infants also shall be dashed in pieces before their eyes; their houses shall be rifled, and their wives ravished. 17 Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, who shall not regard sil- ver, and as for gold, they shall not de- light in it. 18 And their bows shall dash the young men in pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eye shall not spare chil- dren. 19 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldeans’ pride, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. 20 It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall shepherds make their flocks to lie down there. 21 But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and ostriches shall dwell there, and wild goats shall dance there. 22 And ‘wolves shall ‘cry\in their castles, and jackals in the pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged. 5Or, gazelle SOr, joined thereunto THeb. howling creatures 8Or, auswer ISAIAH Vers. 1-22. “THE JUDGMENT PRONOUNCED ON THE BABYLONIAN EM- PIRE AND THE FINAL OVERTHROW AND DESTRUCTION OF BABYLON HERSELF, THROUGH THE CONQUESTS OF THE MEDES AND PERSIANS. In speaking of the day of'the Lord that is to come upon Babylon, the prophet in verses 9 to 13 seems to use language, as Horsley says, which can only primarily and partially apply to Babylon, but which applies more buy ead exhaustively to the judgments to come hereafter upon the whole world. Scofield remarks, ‘‘The city, Babylon, is not in view here, as the im- mediate context shows. It is the political Babylon which is in view, liter- ally as to the then existing city, and symbolically as to the times of the Gentiles. By political Babylon is meant the Gentile world-system. In Revelation religious Babylon, apostate Christianity, is destroyed by political Babylon (Rev. 17.16), and political Babylon is destroyed by the coming of the Lord in glory (Rev. 19.19-21). Verses 12 to 16 of our chapter look forward to the Apocalyptic judgments (Rev. 6-13). Verses 17-22 have both a near and a far view. They predict the destruction of literal Babylon then existing and this has been literally fulfilled. But the place of this prediction in a great prophetic strain which looks forward to the destruction of both politico-Babylon and ecclesio-Babylon in the time of the Beast shows that the destruction of the actual Babylon typifies the greater destruction yet to come upon the mystical Babylon.”’ That the chapter has such a typical reference we have no reason to doubt, but there is less reason to doubt that its primary reference is to the downfall of the literal Babylon existing in the days of the prophet. Alexander puts the matter thus: ‘“The truth, however, seems to be, first, that the downfall of Babylon, an opponent and persecutor of the ancient Church, affords a type of emblem of the destiny of all opposing powers under the new ‘Testament; and, secondly, that in consequence of this analogy the Apocalyptic prophecies apply the name Babylon to the Anti- christian power. But these Apocalyptic prophecies are new ones, not interpretations of the one before us.’’ But surely if it is a type of the one it is equally a type of the other. Nagelsbach says, ‘‘Isaiah regards the judgment against Babylon as the germ-like beginning of ‘the day of the Lord’ in general.” Ver. 1. ““burden’’,—i. e., a weighty or mournful prophecy, heavy because the wrath of God is in it. Ver. 2. “upon the bare mountain’ ,—From such a height the banner could be seen from afar to rally the people against Babylon. “shake the hand’’,—1. e., beckon the nations on toward their march against the city. ‘The pronoun “‘them’’ refers to the Medes and the Persians, while ““the nobles”’ refers to the Babylonians. Ver. 3. “‘my consecrated ones’’,—The warriors are so called because the war is a holy one. Ver. 5. “‘from a far country’’,—i. e., from Media and Persia. “from the end of heaven’’,—This is not perhaps a geographical 64 ISAIAH description, but a statement as to from what point he sees them coming, ‘i. e., from the remotest point in sight, the boundary line of the horizon. “the whole land’ ,—i. e., of Babylonia. Nagelsbach thinks it is quite improbable that by the expressions in this verse Isaiah would designate the Medes and Persians. With regard to the expression, “‘the whole land’’, he says, ‘“The end that the Lord will accomplish by means of ‘the weapons of His indignation’ is to overturn ‘the whole earth’. ‘The whole earth! For this judgment on Babylon belongs to ‘the day of the Lord’. It is thus an integral part of the world’s judgment.” Ver. 6. “the day of Jehovah’’,—i. e., the day of His vengeance on Babylon, and a type of the future ‘“‘day of wrath.” Says Nagelsbach, “Here we see in verses 6 to 8 how plainly the prophet would represent the judgment on Babylon as a part of the world’s judgment. For the traits that now follow are entirely taken from the descriptions of the world’s judgments as we meet them already in the older Prophets, and as, on the other hand, the later New Testament descriptions of the great day of judgment connect with our present one.”’ Ver. 9. “cruel with wrath and fierce anger’’,—i. e., unsparingly just; opposed to mercy. “to lay the land desolate’’,—1. e., as in verse 5, the land of Babylonia, primarily of course. Some make it the earth without reservation. (Ew. Um. Sep.), while Knobel understands the term as an allusion to the uni- versal sway of the Babylonian Empire. Ver. 10. Here is the usual description or the usual Scriptural char- acteristics of the “‘day of the Lord’’—any day of His judgment. Here it must. be figurative for anarchy, distress and revolutions of kingdoms, “although,”’ says Fausset, “‘there may be a literal fulfillment finally, shad- owed forth under this imagery.”’ (Rev. 21.1.) Ver. 11. “the world’’,—This is doubtless a poetical equivalent for Babylon as embracing most of the then known world, although the wider reference usual to the prophecy may also be included. Ver. 12. Scofield would make this verse refer to the Jewish remnant in the great tribulation, and the next verse to that tribulation period itself. - But this seems somewhat strained and arbitrary. The reference is doubt- less to the scarcity of men in consequence of the slaughter of Babylon’s defenders, while verse 13 is to be taken in the same sense as verse 10. Ver. 17. Here we are made aware for the first time who are to be the executors of God’s judgment against Babylon. “shall not regard silver . . nor delight in gold’’,—‘‘In vain’’, says Fausset, ‘will one try to buy his life from them for a ransom.’ ‘“The Prophet intimates’, says Nagelsbach, ‘‘that they are impelled by higher motives than common love of booty—perhaps a thirst for revenge (Del.), but they might also have their source in an impulse to fulfill some mission of which they were unconscious.”’ 65 ISAIAH CHAPTER FOURTEEN 1 For Jehovah will have compassion on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the them, and bring them to their place; and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of Jehovah for serv- ants and for handmaids: and they shall sojourner shall join himself with them, take them captive whose captives they and they shall cleave to the house of were; and they shall rule over their Jacob. 2 And the peoples shall take opptessors. Vers. 1,2. _BABYLON’S DESTRUCTION AND ISRAEL’S RESTORATION AND EXALTATION. Ver. 1. “will yet choose’’,—i. e., choose again; still treat them as His chosen, their restoration being grounded on their election. “the strangers shall be joined with them’’,—The reference is here to the proselytes from the heathen who had joined themselves to Israel. “An earnest’’, says Fausset, ‘‘of the future effect on the heathen world of the Jews’ spiritual restoration.”’ Ver. 2, The meaning is that the people of Babylon will bring the Jews back to their own land, i. e., to the land of the Jews, the ‘‘they’’ in the latter half of the verse referring to the Jews. “shall possess them’’,—1i. e., the Gentiles. Cocceius, at one extreme, finds the whole fulfillment in the final deliverance of the Christian Church from persecution in the Roman empire, while Clericus, at the other, applies it to the number of fore servants that the Jews brought back from exile. Calvin and Fausset make the change predicted an altogether moral and spiritual one, the conquest of the true religion over those who were once its physical oppressors. The fact is there is a twofold fulfillment, the lower physical one in the literal exchange of places, as between the Jews and their oppressors, which took place upon the return of the Jews from Babylonian captivity, and the higher spiritual one which is yet to be accomplished, but ‘“‘not with respect to the Jews as a people’, says Alexander, “‘for their pre-eminence has ceased forever, but with respect to the Church, including Jews and Gentiles, which has succeeded to the rights and privileges, promises and actual possessions of God’s ancient people.”’ As to whether it is to have a still future literal fulfillment Apenas upon one’s method of treating the whole line of such prophecies. Vers. 4-23. Scofield, not without considerable strain in his exegesis, gives a future setting to the whole of the chapter; the first seven verses referring to the Millennial kingdom as set up; verses 7 and 8 to the joy of that kingdom; verses 9 to 11 to the mystical Babylon, the beast in hell; verses 12 to 17 to an address by the Beast to Satan in hell (to what purpose?) ; verses 18 to 23 to the judgment on mystical Babylon in the final world-battle. ‘These verses, however, in their entirety are with far greater simplicity and consistency referred to the king and people of Babylon, Lucifer, in 66 ISRAEL’S SONG OF TRIUMPH OVER HER FALLEN ENEMY. ISATAH verse 12, meaning merely “‘the shining one’, “‘the bright star’, “‘the morn- ing star’, which in Latin is called “‘lucifer’’, and there is therefore no occa- sion for the popular perversion of this beautiful name to signify the Devil. Fausset says, “The language is so framed as to apply to the Babylonian king primarily, and at the same time to shadow forth through him, the great final enemy, the man of sin, Antichrist, of Daniel, Saint Paul and Saint John; he alone shall fulfill exhaustively all the lineaments here given. Blackstone says that in Lucifer the Antichrist is seen, of whom the king of Babylon was a type, and who weakens the nations, exalts his “throne above the stars of God, and sits upon the mount of the congre- gation.”’ Vers. 24-27. A PROPHECY AGAINST THE ASSYRIAN Host UNDER SENNACHERIB. This was doubtless given, as Alexander says, as a sort of a pledge to accredit the prediction against Babylon, or for the purpose of assuring the people that while God had decreed their deliverance from remoter dan- gers (Babylonian oppression), He would also protect them from those near at hand. Ver. 26. ‘“‘purposed upon the whole earth’ ,—‘‘This universality’, says Scofield, “‘is significant and marks the whole passage as referring, not merely to a near judgment upon Assyria, but in a yet larger sense to the final crash of the present world-system at the end of the age.”’ Fausset also here remarks, ‘“This is a hint that the prophecy embraces the present world of all ages in its scope, of which the purpose concerning Babylon and Assyria, the then representatives of the world-power, is but a Dartawand Alexander says, “‘On the supposition that this prophecy relates to Assyria alone, we are obliged to understand ‘the whole earth’ and ‘all nations as describing the universal sway of this great power at that time in question.” Vers. 28-32. A PROPHECY AGAINST PHILISTIA. This prophecy is a warning to the Philistines who had also suffered from the Assyrian power and were disposed to exult unduly because of its overthrow, since they were yet to suffer greater bondage. Fausset thinks it was given to comfort the Jews lest they should fear the Philistines. fine bERSBIE IE EEN This chapter, together with the following one form one prophecy concerning the downfall of Moab. “This burden,’’ says Scofield, ‘‘had a precursive fulfillment in Sen- nacherib’s invasion, B. C. 704, three years after the prediction (Isa. 16.14), but the words have a breadth of meaning which includes also the final world-battle.”’ 67 ISAIAH CHAPTER SIXTEEN 1 Send ye the lambs for the ruler of mine outcasts dwell with thee; as for the land from ‘Selah to the wilderness, Moab, be thou a covert to him from the unto the mount of the daughter of Zion. face of the destroyer. For “the extor- 2 For it shall be that, as wandering tioner is brought to nought, destruction birds, as a scattered nest, so shall the ceaseth, *the oppressors are consumed out daughters of Moab be at the fords of of the land. 5 And a throne shall be the Arnon. 3 Give counsel, execute established in lovingkindness; and one justice; make thy shade as the night in shall sit thereon in truth, in the tent of the midst of the noonday; hide the out- David, judging, and seeking justice, and casts; betray not the fugitive. 4 Let swift to do righteousness. 10r, Petra 2Or, extortion 3Heb. the treaders down Vers. 1-5. “THE DAVIDIC KINGDOM FORESEEN. They are, in verse 1, exhorted to send tribute to Jerusalem for the reason set forth in verse 2. Older writers maintain that these verses as well as the next ones are addressed by the prophet to Moab and they are exhorted to submit them- selves to Israel and to show mercy to her in her affliction (Moab being one of the lands to which Israel is said to have fled when oppressed by Nebu- chadnezzar—Jer. 40.11,12), thus preparing for the day of their own calamity when the Israelites will be in a position to assist them because (the reason being given in the last clause of verse 4 and in verse 5) the cessation of all violent oppression is near at hand and the dominion of the kingdom of God under one great line of David shall be set up. (V. Na. Bar.) The Prophet foresees that Moab will be too proud (verse 6) to pay the tribute or to conciliate Judah by sheltering its outcasts; therefore judgment shall be executed. Others, however, (F. Ho. Ew. Ma. Del. Ges.) take verses 3 and 4 as the address of the suppliant Moab, asking Israel to show kindness to _ her; the outcasts in this case being those of Moab. Verse 5 is then taken as a promise to Israel if they shelter the outcasts of Moab. There are difficulties attending either explanation, though not serious in either case. The latter explanation, which is in agreement with our. text, is perhaps to be preferred, in which case it would seem better to take the first two verses with Alexander as a mutual exhortation of the Moabites to themselves in their confusion and distress. Most interpreters, ancient and modern, take the verbs in the last clause of verse 4 in the future sense, as is often done in Hebrew, though they be in the past tense grammatically. This gives an appropriate sense whether the words be addressed to Israel or to Moab. Fausset says, ‘““By the time that Moab begins to beg Judah for shelter, Judah shall be in a condition to afford it, for the Assyrian oppressor shall have been ‘consumed out of the land’.”’ Ver. 5. “tn truth’’,—One who is truthful and reliable. ‘“‘A king’’, as Delitzsch says, ““who makes truth the criterion of his actions.”’ “judging and seeking judgment and hasting righteousness’ ,—‘‘The language is so divinely framed as to.apply to ‘the latter days’ under King Messiah when the Lord ‘shall bring again the captivity of Moab’.”’ (F.) 68 ISAIAH Says Alexander, ‘““The words of verse 5 are intended to include a reference to all the good kings of the house of David, not excepting the last King of that race, to whom God was to give the throne of his father David, who was to reign over the house of Jacob forever and of whose kingdom there should be no end.”’ _ Scofield says that verses 1-5, which are a continuation of the prophecy against Moab, shows the ‘“‘tabernacle of David’’ set up, the next event in order after the destruction of the Beast and his armies. Says Nagelsbach, “‘Isaiah sees in spirit the end of the world-power, therefore the cessation of all violent oppression and the dominion of the kingdom of God under a great one of the line of David.” CHAPTER SEVENTEEN A PROPHECY OF DESOLATION ‘TO THE KINGDOMS OF SYRIA AND EPHRAIM (verses 1-11), CLOSING WITH A,GENERAL THREATEN- ING AGAINST THE ENEMIES OF JUDAH (verses 12-14). Here again Scofield says, ‘‘As in the burden of Moab, there was doubt- less a near fulfillment in Sennacherib’s approaching invasion, but verses ‘12 to 14 as evidently look forward to the final invasion and battle of Armageddon.”’ Chak UPRAEIGH TEEN treadeth down, whose land the rivers “divide! 7 In that time shall a present be 1 Ah, the land ‘of the rustling of wings, which is beyond the rivers of “Ethiopia; 2 that sendeth ambassadors by the sea, “even in vessels of papyrus upon the waters, saying, Go, ye swift messengers, to a nation “tall and smooth, to a people terrible from their beginning onward, a nation *that meteth out and 1Or, shadowing with wings brought unto Jehovah of hosts from a people ‘tall and smooth, even from a people terrible from their beginning on- ward, a nation that meteth out and treadeth down, whose land the rivers divide, to the place of the name of Jehovah of hosts, the mount Zion. °Or, have despoiled "Heb. Cush. 8Or, and 4Or, dragged away and peeled 5Or, meted out and trodden-down UHeb. of line, line, and of treading down. Vers. 1,2)7. Ver. 1. The introductory particle in verse 1 is not one that carries in it the idea of a threat, but rather one of appeal, a particle of calling, and should not be rendered ‘‘Woe,’’ as in the Authorized Version. (F. Al.) Ver. 2. On the supposition that the people described in verses 2 and 7 are Ethiopians; the command to ““Go”’ may be taken, as in our text, as a command of the Ethiopians to their own messengers to go and call the people to preparation for battle; or the word “‘saying’’ may be omitted, and the command be taken as that of the prophet (F. Al. Na. Del.) asking the messengers to carry to their own people announcement, either (1) that 69 THE DANGER AND DELIVERANCE OF ETHIOPIA. ISAIAH God Himself would without their help undertake the destruction of the common enemy of Israel and Ethiopia (Al.) or (2) that they should gather themselves together for the battle. (Na. Del.) Of the two explanations the latter in each case is to be preferred. Ver. 7. ‘The older view, and especially Jewish, was that the people described in this verse and verse 2 were the people of Israel, and that the prophecy relates to the restoration of the Jews. The language used is supposed to be descriptive of their degraded and oppressed condition. (F. Ho. Ew. Kn. Hof. Mei. Sco. Then.) The descriptive language as siglo to the Ethiopians refers to their warlike qualities. “present be brought unto Jehovah of hosts from a people’, etc.,—Of those who refer the two verses in question to the Jews, some refer the present to the exiled Jews sent back to Jerusalem by the Ethiopians, while Horsley, Fausset and others refer the whole matter to the restoration of the Jews in the latter times. Fausset says, ‘Horsley is probably right that the ultimate and fullest reference of the prophecy is to the restoration of the Jews in the Holy Land through the instrumentality of some distant people skilled in navigation, perhaps England, which may of course be included in the description of all remote lands ‘beyond’ the Nile’s mouths.”’ Of those who refer the verses in question to the Ethiopians the present is the presentation of the Ethiopians with their gifts by themselves. The decision is not an easy one, but the latter one seems by far the better. The Ethiopians were then an earnest and partial fulfillment of nae is still to take place in larger measure in the future. This latter view is that of the older Christian writers and relates itself to the calling of the Gentiles. The prophecy as such has never yet come true but is being fulfilled throughout this dispensation while it waits for . complete fulfillment in the latter days. (See Chap. 66.19.) CHAPTER NINETEEN This chapter falls easily into two parts, one of which (verses 1-17) contains a threatening against Egypt, and the other (verses 18-25) promises. On the whole it is better to take these last verses in a sense similar to the last verses of the preceding chapter, as a prediction of the calling of the Gentiles, and to think that just as the prophet had described the downfall of Egypt in the first part under figures borrowed from the then actual con- dition of Egypt, so in the second part he describes the introduction of the true religion by figures drawn from the religious institutions of the old economy. CHAPTER TWENTY This chapter contains a continuation of the subject of the preceding one, but at a later date, and relates to the captivity of Egypt and Ethiopia, 70 ISAIAH CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE This chapter relates to the conquest of Babylon by the Medes and Persians (verses 1-10); to the conquest of Edom, or the Arabian tribe Dumah (verses 11-12) and finally to that of Arabia herself (verses |e a ens CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO While the second part of this chapter is devoted to a prediction con- cerning an individual, Shebna, who is to be removed from office, the first part of the chapter is given to a prediction of the overthrow of Jerusalem by the armies of Sennacherib. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE This chapter also consists of two parts. The first predicts the fall of Tyre, of which God is the author and the Chaldeans His instruments; the second part relates how Tyre shall be forsaken and forgotten for seventy years (verse 15), after which she shall be restored to her former flourishing condition (verses 16,17), and her wealth thereafter devoted to the Lord. ‘This latter statement seems to be the more reasonable ex- planation of verse 18, because otherwise it would be hard to conceive how the Lord would restore a nation on which He had inflicted His vengeance, in order that it may begin again its old life of harlotry, and how the wages of this prostitution could be consecrated to the Lord, since in Deut. 23.18 it is expressly forbidden to bring the “‘hire of a whore’ into the house of the Lord. If verse 18 be taken in this sense it must be the mystical Tyre that is thought of in this verse, as it was the mystical Ethiopia in Chapter 18 and the mystical Egypt and Assyria in Chapter 19, but in either sense this part of the prophecy of course waits complete fulfillment in days yet to come. Says Fausset, ‘‘Her traffic and her gains shall at last be consecrated to Jehovah. Jesus Christ visited the neighborhood of Tyre, Paul founded disciples there; it early became a Christian bishopric, but the full evangeli- zation of that whole race, as of the Ethiopians themselves (Chap. 18) and of the en and Assyrians (Chap. 19) is yet to come (Chap. 605) < Section Four. Prediction of Coming Desolation and Deliverance there- from together with Songs and Thanksgiving. CHAPTERS 24 TO 27. It is by no means easy to determine the principal reference throughout this portion of the prophet’s writing. [here are two general views. View 1. Delitzsch says, ““The cycle of prophecy that begins here finds a counterpart in the Old Testament only perhaps in Zech. 9-14. Both of these sections are eschatological and apocalyptic in content.” eA | ISAIAH Fausset says, “The prophet passes to the last times of the world at large and of Judah the.representative and future head of the churches. The four chapters form one continuous poetical prophecy, descriptive of the dispersion and successive calamities of the Jews (Chap. 24.1-12); the preaching of the Gospel by the first Jewish converts throughout the world (verses 13-16); the judgments on the adversaries of the Church and its final triumph (verses 16-23); thanksgiving for the overthrow of the apostate faction (Chap. 25); establishment of the righteous in lasting peace (Chap. 26); judgment on leviathan and entire purgation of the Church (Chap. 27).”’ Nagelsbach says, ‘‘The prophet transports himself in spirit to the end of all things. He describes the destruction of the world.”’ Blackstone says, ‘‘From these chapters an idea may be gained of the terrible character of the tribulation period, during which Antichrist will also be revealed. Some, especially from the remnant of Israel, will accept Christ and become His witnesses, and be slain by the Antichrist. These we call the tribulation saints, who are to be raised at the close of the great tribulation, as the gleanings of the great harvest of the first resurrection.” View 2. On the other hand Alexander, with others, maintains that ‘the main reference of the prophecy is to the coming Babylonian conquest and its outcome, and that the land in question is Palestine. There are questions most perplexing, and for which no solution alto- gether satisfactory has been found, connected with either view. The view of Alexander, at first thought, seems the simpler and more natural, espec- ially if we may see in these prophecies a typical or secondary reference to final times. CHAPTER “TWENTY-FOUR THE JUDGMENT UPON THE EARTH FORETOLD. 1 Behold, Jehovah maketh the ‘earth broken the everlasting covenant. 6 empty, and maketh it waste, and turn- Therefore hath the curse devoured the eth it upside down, and _ scattereth earth, and they that dwell therein are abroad the inhabitants thereof. 2 And found guilty: therefore the inhabitants it shall be, as with the people, so with of the earth are burned, and few men the priest; as with the servant, so with left. 7 The new wine mourneth, the his master; as with the maid, so with vine languisheth, all the merry-hearted her mistress; as with the buyer, so with do sigh. 8 The mirth of tabrets ceaseth, the seller; as with the creditor, so with the noise of them that rejoice endeth, the debtor; as with the taker of inter- the joy of the harp ceaseth. 9 They est, so with the giver of interest to him. shall not drink wine with a song; 3 The earth shall be utterly emptied, strong drink shall be bitter to them that and utterly laid waste; for Jehovah hath drink it. 10 The waste city is broken , spoken this word. 4 The earth mourn- down; every house is shut up, that no eth and fadeth away, the world lan- man may come in. i1 There is a cry- guisheth and fadeth away, “the lofty ing in the streets because of the wine; people of the earth do languish. 5 The all joy is darkened, the mirth of the earth also is polluted under the inhabit- land is *gone. 12 In the city is left ants thereof; because they have trans- desolation, and the gate is smitten with gressed the laws, violated the statutes, destruction, . 1Or, Jama (and so in ver 3, 4, &c.) °Heb. gone into captivity “Or, the high ones of the people TZ ISAIAH _ Vers 1-12. “THE BEGINNING OF THE JUDGMENT. According to view one, the eschatological view, the judgment here is upon the earth. It is, as Delitzsch says, ‘‘universal, not merely within the borders of Palestine, but as regards the inhabitants of the earth, for the word here used means earth, and implies even the New Testament ethical idea of kosmos.”’ According to view two, that of Alexander and others, by earth is here meant Palestine, the word “‘earth’’ and ‘‘world’’ not to be taken in their widest sense, but as poetical descriptions of the land of Palestine. According to view one the “waste city’’ of verse 10 is the city as the center of the world and its alienation from God, the city in general. According to view two the reference is to Jerusalem. Concerning verses 1 to 12 Nagelsbach says, “If I am to state what future events will correspond to this prophecy of the first act of the judg- ment of the world, it appears to me that the description of the prophet corresponds to what our Lord in His discourse on the last things says of the signs of His coming, and of the beginning of sorrows (Matt. 24.6-8; Mk. 13.7-8; Lu. 21.9). And the beginning of sorrows corresponds again to what the Revelation of John represents under the image of seven seals, seven trumpets and seven vials (Rev. 6. sqq.).”’ 13 For thus shall it be in the midst they shall shout; for the majesty of of the earth among the peoples, as the Jehovah they cry aloud from the sea. ‘shaking of an olive-tree, as the glean- 15 Wherefore glorify ye Jehovah in the ings when the vintage is done. “east, even the name of Jehovah, the God 14 These shall lift up their voice, of Israel, in the “isles of the sea. 1Heb. beating 2Or, lights Or, fires 80r, coast-lands Vers. 13-15. "THE REMNANT AND THEIR SONG. Ver. 13. “asthe shaking. . . as the gleanings’’,—These are figura- tive expressions for the remnant, the few left after the judgments foretold. “in the midst of the earth’’,—Some authorities place a comma after “earth’’, thus making “‘among the peoples’ the place where the remnant is scattered, but our text emphasizes rather the extent of the desolation before described, and is perhaps the smoother reading. Ver. 14. ““These’’,—Not the ‘‘nations’’ (Schel.), nor the Jews left in Palestine (Bar.), but the remnant, the dispersed survivors of these judg- ments. . “There will be’’, says Delitzsch, ‘‘as few men left in the great wide world as olives and grapes after the principal harvest in each case. “Those who are saved belong especially, but not exclusively (Joel 3.5) to Israel. The place where they assemble is the land of Promise.”’ Alexander, according to view two, confines this remnant of course to the dispersed Jews after the Babylonian invasion and conquest. “from the sea’’,—1i. e., from the lands beyond the sea whither they have escaped. Ver. 15. This verse is an exhortation by the prophet to the remnant (Al.), and not the song of the remnant continued, as Ewald thinks. - “tn the east’’,—The literal is ‘‘fires’’, The weight of exegetical 73 ISAIAH authority favors the reading of our text, as against ‘‘fires’’ of the Author- ized Version, the east being the region of sunrise or of dawning light. This corresponds well to the “‘isles of the sea’’, the west. 16 From the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs: Glory to the righteous. But I said, *I pine away, I pine away, woe is me! the treacherous have dealt treacherously; yea, the treacherous have dealt very treacherously. 17 Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth. 18 And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows on high are opened, and the foundations of the earth tremble. 19 The earth is utterly brok- en, the earth is rent asunder, the earth 1Heb. Leanness to me. is shaken violently. 20 The earth shall stagger like a drunken man, and shall sway to and fro like a hammock; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it, and it shall fall, and not rise again. 21 And it shall come to pass in that day that Jehovah will *punish the host of the “high ones on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth. 22 And they shall be gathered together, as pris- oners are gathered in the “pit, and shall be shut up in the prison; and after many days shall they be °*visited. 23 Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed; for Jehovah of hosts will reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem; and before his elders shall be glory. "Heb. visit upon ®Heb. height 4Or, dungeon 5Or, punished Vers. 16-23. “THE CONSUMMATION OF THE JUDGMENT. Ver. 16. “we heard songs’’,—The songs of the remnant in disper- sion wafted toward Jerusalem as a distant chorus. “glory to the righteous’’,—By “‘righteous’’ is here meant righteous men in general (F. Al. Na. Del.), and not God (Hend.). Nagelsbach says, ‘‘From the first clause of this verse we perceive that the remnant, the elect of God, are hidden in a safe place, gathered. on the holy mountain and there find protection (Chap. 4.5), but this is just the | occasion for the signal to be given for the occurrence of the last and most frightful catastrophe, the judgment on the ungodly.” “But I sad’’,—The prophet of course connects himself with the blessed experiences of the future, but at once becomes conscious of the suf- ferings that must first of all be experienced, and realizing that he cannot see these without also experiencing them, he connects himself with them. We hear promises and praise but our actual experience is misery. “the treacherous’’ ,—1i. e., the foreign nations that oppress Jerusalem. Ver. 17. This verse explains the wretchedness spoken of in verse 16. “Fear’’,—The Hebrew word denotes a feathered device which when fluttered in the air scares the beasts into the pit or the birds into the snares. Ver. 18. The prophet is here threatening the guilty earth with instant vengeance. “the windows on high are opened’’,—Either to produce a deluge, with manifest reference to Gen. 7.11 (Al. Del.), or that other weapons of his vengeance may descend, wind, fire, thunder, lightning, drought, pesti- lence, which also in a sense may be said to descend from heaven (F. Kn. Na.). Perhaps, in view of the promise that the earth should not again be destroyed by water (Gen. 9.11), the latter explanation is preferable, although even so the figure may be drawn from the passage in Genesis, 74 ISAIAH “the foundations of the earth tremble’’,—The reference here is mani- festly to earthquakes. Thus, ‘‘the globe of the earth’’, says Nagelsbach, “is assailed from above and from beneath. ‘The reference of the whole passage is not a local, but a universal one.”’ Ver. 19. Says Delitzsch, ‘The earth first gets fractured, then yawn- ing chasms open, once more it sways to and fro, and falls.”’ Ver. 20. “it shall fall and not rise agatn’’,—Nagelsbach says, “These words are clear proof that the total destruction of the globe of the earth in its present form is the subject treated of. In its present form! For the earth shall rise again in a higher, holier form beyond the range of sin and its consequence, death. For there is a new heaven and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.”’ Ver. 21. “‘the host of the high ones on high’’,— (1) The high earthly potentates. (C. Al. Lut. Hav. Tar.) But this plainly destroys the antithesis which is evident in the verse. (2) The starry host, the heavenly bodies, as in Chap. 34.4. (Sm. Um. Hof. Baud.) But the idea of personality runs through the entire verse and the contrast between inanimate objects and earthly powers for the purpose noted, i. e., imprisonment, does not go well to- gether. (3) The wicked angels, invisible heads of the worldly powers, are no doubt intended. (F. Na. Kn. Ab, Del. Hit. Ros.) Ver. 22. “‘gathered together as prisoners’’,—The persons meant are of course the principalities and powers mentioned in the preceding verse. “after many days they shall be visited’’,—This visitation may be in mercy CoP He, Pe“ Ew.*Kn.Hit. Luz) Kim:)) or it’may be in wrath (Al> Ho. Na. Ei. Um. Del. Ros. Ges: Sco. Mor, Bla. Tor: Hend.). Fausset, who takes the visitation as one of mercy, says, ‘The ‘shutting up of the Jews in Jerusalem under Nebuchadnezzar, and again under ‘Titus, was to be followed by a visitation of mercy ‘after many days’— seventy years in the case of the former—the time is not yet elapsed in the case of the latter.”’ Those who hold the reference of the prophecy to be to the times of the end think here of a visitation of wrath upon the ungodly Gentile world- powers. The “‘pit’’, they say (Na. Del.), is used for Sheol, as oftentimes Mea 9938.18). Nagelsbach says, ‘‘But not merely the binding of those angelic and worldly powers, their being set loose for a time is also announced by the prophet. Only by a brief, obscure word, probably not seen through by himself, does the prophet intimate this. Even we should not understand this word if the revelation of the New Testament, which is nearer the time of the fulfillment, did not throw light on this dark point. It declares expressly that after a thousand years Satan should be loosed out of his prison. Isaiah here uses the indefinite ‘after many days’. ‘This visitation can be a gracious one, but it can also be a new stage in the visitation of 75 ISAIAH The setting loose of Satan is only the prelude to his total With this Delitzsch and many others are in accord. judgment. destruction.” Ver. 23. Because Jehovah reigns all inferior luminaries were to be eclipsed. ‘‘The simple meaning of the verse,’’ says Alexander, “‘appears to be that Jehovah’s reign over His people shall be more august than that of any created sovereign.’’ The elders, he maintains, are the rulers of Israel as the Church. Among the supporters of view one we find Scofield referring the content of this verse to the kingdom age, while Nagelsbach says, ‘“The earth now becomes the common dwelling place of God and man; the heavenly Jerusalem now descends upon the renovated earth, and in this city where Jehovah reigns there is no need of sun or moon, for the Lord Himself is its light.’’ Delitzsch says, ‘“Then the Lord reigns with His own in the New Jerusalem in such glory that the silvery moon shame- facedly veils itself, and the glowing sun is confounded with shame, because in the presence of such glory the two great lights of heaven will be, accord- ing to a Jewish expression, like a lamp in the noontide sunshine. “Then shall ‘elders’ after God’s own heart be given to the Israel of the Jerusalem of the future.” It is evident after careful study that the difficulties attending the second view are greater than those of the first, and to this view we are inclined—that which takes the passage as foretelling last-time events— even though we may not be able to fully comprehend the prophetic words in all their detail. What the prophet has left indefinite we must not attempt to make specific. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE 1 O Jehovah, thou are my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things, even counsels of old, in faithfulness and truth. 2 For thou hast made of a city a heap, of a fortified city a ruin, a thou hast been a stronghold ‘to the poor, a stronghold to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall. 5 As the heat in a dry place wilt thou palace of strangers to be no city; it bring down the noise of strangers; as shall never be built. 3 Therefore shall the heat by the shade of a cloud, the a strong people glorify thee; a city of song of the terrible ones shall be terrible nations shall fear thee. 4 For brought low. Vers. 1-5. “THANKSGIVING FOR THE OVERTHROW OF THE OPPRESSORS. In keeping with the two views under consideration, Delitzsch, repre- senting the first one, says, ‘‘The prophet transported to the end of time celebrates in psalm and song what he saw, praising God for having de- stroyed the mighty city of the world and for having proved Himself the shield and defense of the hitherto oppressed community against the tyranny of the city of the world’, while Alexander, representing the second view, says, ‘‘We have in these verses a thanksgiving to God for the destruction of Babylon and the deliverance of the Jews.’’ Ver. 2. “made of a city a heap’’,—The “‘city” according to view one is to be taken as in Chap. 24.10, city in general; according to view two it is Babylon. Ver. 3. “‘a strong people’ ,—Not the Jews, but other nations which were compelled to own Jehovah conqueror. 76 ISAIAH “The fall of the world-power’’, says Delitzsch, ‘‘is followed by the - conversion of the heathen who submit to Jehovah with proper reverence.”’ Says Alexander, ‘The destruction of Babylon and the fulfillment of the prophecy thereby, shall lead even the boldest and wildest of the heathen to acknowledge Jehovah as true God. It may just as well denote a com- pulsory extorted homage, fear being taken in its proper sense, and the verse may then be taken as a description of the effect produced by Jehovah's overthrow of Babylon on the Babylonians themselves.”’ It is evident that if “‘city’’ in verse 2 be referred to Babylon, which is there spoken of as destroyed and never to be built, the “‘city’’ of this verse cannot refer to Babylon, which fact is an argument for the first view of the meaning of this word. Ver. 4. “the poor... the needy’’,—1. e., the Jews in dispersion. The nations shall reverence Jehovah, not merely as the destroyer of the oppress- ing power, but as the deliverer of His own people. death for ever; and the Lord Jehovah will wipe away tears from off all faces; 6 And in this mountain will Jehovah of hosts make unto all peoples a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined. 7 And he will ‘destroy in this mountain the face of the covering that covereth all peoples, and the veil that is spread over all nations. 8 He hath swallowed up and the reproach of his people will he take away from off all the earth: for Jehovah hath spoken it. 9 And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us; this is Jehovah; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation. 1Heb. swallow up Vers. 6-9. Ver. 6. Here begins again the eschatological prophecy, resuming the thread of the discourse interrupted at the end of the last chapter. (Na. Al. Del.) The feast is a spiritual feast, says Nagelsbach and Delitzsch, of which not only Israel but “‘all peoples’ are to partake, the feast being on earth, says Delitzsch, because the Old Testament knows nothing of a heaven where blessed men are gathered. Nagelsbach says that in the New Testament it appears in Luke 14.16 as the Great Supper, in Matt. 22.1 as the Marriage of the King’s Son, and in Rev. 19.7,9,17 as the Marriage of the Lamb, in which latter place the counterpart of this feast is set forth. Alexander says, ‘‘There is nothing to indicate the time when the promise should be fulfilled, nor indeed to restrict it to any time in par- ‘THE FEAST IN ZION FOR ALL NATIONS. ticular. Jerusalem has always more or less fulfilled the office here ascribed to it. Ver. 7. The expressions here used are symbolical, not of grief and mourning, as many, if indeed not most interpreters take it, the veiling of the face being the sign of mourning; but it is a symbolical expression of spiritual blindness, as in II Cor. 3.15,16. But while the chief reference is to the understanding, the thought of sorrow may be included, as indeed this is but the result of spiritual ignorance. Ver. 8. ‘‘Naturally,’’ says Delitzsch, “‘this applies to the ecclesia trtumphans, the prophet’s vision of things having brought him to the same 77 ISAIAH point as that reached by Paul in I Cor. 15.28, and by John on the last page of his Apocalypse.”’ Nagelsbach says, ‘‘John in Rev. 7.17 and 21.4 quotes our passage to prove that he regards the things which he saw as a fulfillment not only of his own prophecy but also of that spoken by Isaiah. ‘The fulfillment is on the new earth, the dwelling place of God with man.” Alexander says that the true sense of the passage is that all misery and suffering comprehended under the generic name of death shall be com- pletely done away with, the words being a promise to God’s people of the final, perpetual, triumphant abolition of death, which in its highest sense may never be realized by any individual till after death. Ver. 9. to only belteved.”’ “The redeemed now see the Lord in whom they have hither- (Na. ) “we have waited’’,—''We have waited but He has come at last to vindicate His truth and our reliance upon him.’’ (AlI.) 10 For in this mountain will the hand of Jehovah rest; and Moab shall be trodden down in his place, even as straw is trodden down ‘in the water of the dunghill. 11 And he shall spread forth his hands in the midst “thereof as he that swimmeth spreadeth forth his hands to swim; but Jehovah will lay low “his pride *together with the craft of *his hands. 12 And the high fortress of thy walls "hath he brought down, laid low, and brought to the ground, even to the dust. 3Or, their 4Or, for all the craft 5Or, will he bring down, lay low, and bring, 1Another reading is, zz the dunghill °Or, of them C Gad Pr Vers. 10-12. THE DISGRACEFUL RUIN OF MOAB THREATENED. Ver. 10. While Israel is being protected the foe'is being destroyed. “For tn this mountain will the hand of Jehovah rest’’,—1i. e., as its permanent protector. The joy is to be everlasting. Moab and Edom were two hereditary inveterate enemies of Israel, but quite often, as apparently here, both or either is taken as inclusive of, Israel’s enemies in general. Indeed Moab must be included in the “all nations’, and “‘all faces’ of verses 6, 7 and 8, and must here be taken as the representative of all the ungodly of all nations. Alexander persists of course in identifying this mountain, Mount Zion, with the Church of New ‘Testament times. “even as straw’’, etc.,—Straw is cast into the filthy water of the dunghole that it may be saturated by it and rendered fitter for manure. Thus the Lord humbles the proud by making disgrace an element of their punishment. Ver. 11. The subject of the first verb is without doubt Moab (Lo. Na. Al. Del. Hit. Gro.) , and not Jehovah, as many have taken it. (F. C.) It is the person cast into the hole seeking to save himself. Tto make Jeho- vah the swimmer does violence to the context and is highly offensive. Those so construing it think of Jehovah as striking Moab here and there, in every part, as a swimmer strikes the waves in every direction. But this idea might have been expressed more clearly in a score of different ways. Ver. 12. The figurative statement of verse 11 literally exemplified. 78 ISAIAH __ The reference is not to the city mentioned in the second verse, but to the ‘cities of Moab in general. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX ISRAEL AS RESTORED OR RAISED TO LIFE AGAIN. 1 In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will he appoint for walls and bulwarks. 2 Open ye the gates, that the right- eous nation which keepeth faith may go in. 3 *Thou wilt keep him “in perfect peace whose “mind is stayed; because he trusteth in thee. 4 Trust ye in Jehovah for ever; for in. Jehovah, even Jehovah, is an “ever- lasting rock. 5 For he hath brought down them that dwell on high, the lofty city: he layeth it low even to the ground; he bringeth it even to the dust. 6 The foot shall tread it down; even the foot of the poor, and the steps of the needy. 7 The way of the just is °upright- ness; thou that art upright doth “direct the path of the just. 8 Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O Jehovah, have we waited for thee; to thy name, even to thy memorial name, is the desire of our soul. 9 With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I see thee earnestly: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the in- habitants of the world learn righteous- ness. 10 Let favor be showed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteous- ness; in the land of uprightness will he deal wrongfully, and will not behol the majesty of Jehovah. ; 11 Jehovah, thy hand is lifted up, yet they see not: but they shall see ‘thy 1Or, @ steadfast mind thou keepest in perfect peace, because it &c. ; *Heb. peace, peace 3Or, imagination 4Or, a rock of ages : 5Or, @ right way; the path of the just thou directest aright. ®Or, level "Or, and be put to shame, in their envy at the people zeal for the people, and be put to shame; yea “fire shall devour thine ad- versaries. 12 Jehovah, thou wilt ordain peace for us; for thou hast also wrought all our works for us. 13 O Jehovah our God, other lords besides thee have bad dominion over us; but by thee only will we make mention of thy name. 14 *They are dead, they shall not live; they are ‘deceased, they shall not rise; therefore hast thou visited and de- stroyed them, and made all remembrance of them to perish. 15 Thou hast increased the nation, O Jehovah, thou hast increased the nation; thou art glorified; “thou hast enlarged all the borders of the land. _ 16 Jehovah, in trouble have they “visited thee: they poured out a “prayer when thy chastening was upon them. 17 Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain and crieth out in her pangs; so we have been “before thee, O Jeho- vah. 18 We have been with child, we have been in pain, we have as it were brought forth wind; we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth; “neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen. 19 Thy dead shall live; my dead bodies shall arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in the dust: for thy dew is as the dew of “herbs, and the earth shall cast forth “the dead. 8Or, the fire of thine adversaries shall de- vour them %Or, the dead live not. the deceased rise not WOr, shades NQOr, thou hast removed it far unto all the ends of the earth 120r, looked for Heb. whisper 4Or, at thy presence Or, neither have inhabitants of the world been born Or, light MWOr, the shades Vers. 1-19. THE WORSHIP AND TESTIMONY OF RESTORED ISRAEL. Ver. 1. “In that day’’,—Contemporaneous and homogeneous with “in that day’”’ of Chap. 25.9-12. It is the day of deliverance just men- tioned. . 79 ISAIAH The “land of Judah’’ is plainly employed to form an antithesis to Moab of the preceding chapter. The “‘city’’ mentioned is Jerusalem, and by “‘he’’ Jehovah is meant. According to view one the prophet relates a hymn which he hears coming from the holy mountain and out of the holy city, the leading thought of which corresponds to II Pet. 3.13, it being the redeemed who sing the song. According to view two the singers are the Jews after their return from exile. Knobel contends that they are the Jews left by the Babylonians in the land of Judah; but this is entirely out of keeping with the context. Ver. 2. The speakers are the same as in the preceding verse. “The cry is a heavenly one’’, says Delitzsch, ‘‘and those who open the gates are angels.’’ Alexander thinks of the returning exiles calling to the keepers of the gates of Jerusalem. Ver. 3. This, says Alexander, is a general truth deduced from the experience of those who are supposed to be the speakers. To be resigned to God, to lean on Him, brings composure and peace. Ver. 4. The same speakers addressing an exhortation to all who hear them to continue in the frame of mind just mentioned. Ver.5. “the lofty city’’,— (See explanation under Chaps. 24.10-12 and 25.2.) Ver. 6. The ruins of the conquered city to be trodden under foot by those who had before been trodden in the dust by the feet of the worldly power, the oppressor. Ver. 8. “‘watted for thee’’,—i. e., to see Thee come forth as a judge for the vindication of thy people and the destruction of their enemies. (Al. Ma. Na. Del.) Delitzsch, followed by Nagelsbach, says, ‘The Church’ of the last days tells how she, looking back into the past, waited longingly i the manifestation of Jehovah’s righteousness which has now taken place.’ Ver. 9. The faithful Jews here speak individually, says Fausset. Others (Na. Del.) think the prophet is here speaking for himself, especially attributing to himself in the night of his sorrow and trouble the desire that God would thus manifest Himself. The latter thought is without doubt — the correct one. Ver. 11. “thy hand ts lifted up’’,—1. e., to punish the foes of God's people. “but they shall see’ ’,—Those who will not see shall be made to see; “‘a general truth,’’ says Delitzsch, “‘which had then received its most splen- did confirmation through the fall of the world city.’ Ver. 12. ‘‘An expression of strong hope and confidence’, says Alex- ander, ‘‘founded on what has already been experienced.”’ It is quite generally agreed that by “our works’ are meant the works done for us by God Himself. Ver. 13. Nagelsbach’s unique and strange imagination ‘gives us the view that beginning with this verse and continuing through verse 18 the 80 ISAIAH speakers are the dwellers in Sheol and that the prophet brings into view the resurrection of the dead. In verse 14 the dead are speaking according to the prevailing opinion; in verse 16 we find, says he, that the longing for life and the hope of regaining it are not extinguished even in the realm of the dead, while verse 17 supposes the possibility of deliverance from Sheol, the hope of which is still alive in its occupants, and verse 18 shows that all efforts of their own to bring themselves to a new life are ineffectual like the bringing forth of wind on the part of a travailing woman. Then in verse 19 the prophet speaks, as the interpreter of Jehovah, words of con- solation to the shades in Sheol, and in the spirit of prophecy utters the triumphant call to awake, which will one day be pronounced by a mightier voice that it may be fulfilled. There is nothing to commend Nagelsbach’s view; this earth and not Sheol is the theater of what is described in verses 15 to 18, and it is either the Church Triumphant speaking on this re- deemed earth, or the remnant of Israel after their return, according to which ever view is taken of the entire prophecy. “other lords besides thee’’,—-The somewhat current explanation of these lords is that they refer to the Chaldeans and the Babylonians, and to this we are inclined although Alexander gives strong reasons for referring them to the idols which the Jews served before the exile. Fausset includes both in his explanation. Ver. 14. Most expositors, following Clericus, refer this verse to the Babylonians. Hitzig and Umbreit refer it to the forefathers of Israel who on account of their idolatry had perished. But this brings in a new subject not previously introduced. Alexander of course refers it to the idols, the lords of verse 13, with some allusion, however, to the idolatrous oppressors of Israel. Delitzsch refers it naturally to the oppressors of Israel who, like the king of Babylon, have fallen into the realm of the shades, from which they cannot now be brought back. ‘The idea is that we are not to think of a self resusitation, and not that they are dead forever as if there were no resurrection of the dead, because Isaiah certainly knew that there was to be such a thing, as verse 19 shows. Hosea, an earlier prophet than Isaiah, also announced that death and Sheol should be de- prived of their prey. (Hos. 13.14.) (See also Isa. 25.8.) Ver. 15. When Israel has cause to praise God in this way it will again have become a numerous people and’ so larger territory will be needed. The verse is a grateful acknowledgment of what God had done for his suffering people. Ver. 16. “‘vistted thee’’,—1. e., in the sense of supplication. The prayer, as in verses 8 and 9, seems to return to the night of sorrow which preceded their deliverance. Ver. 18. By referring this verse to the resurrection we have the strange spectacle of the shades in Hades fruitlessly striving to resusitate themselves and to get back into the world with a view to blessing it with deliverance from evil and oppression. ‘‘Generous shades!’’ exclaims Dun- lop Moore. Ver. 19. To the ineffectual efforts of the people to save themselves is now opposed their actual deliverance by Jehovah Himself. They will rise because they are God's dead. 81 ISAIAH There is here of course a resurrection of some king predicted. To what does it refer? (1) Not to an actual or possible event, but a passionate wish that the depopulated land might be replenished with inhabitants, the resurrection in this case referring to the Jews already dead and a wish that they might be made alive. But this gives a construc- tion to the verb which is neither natural nor obvious, and be- sides it would be a most unnatural conclusion of this address to Jehovah. (2) A spiritual resurrection or resusitation of the people of Israel, the reference being to the restoration of exiled Israel under the figure of a resurrection, i. e., raised from the dust of degradation. (Al. Reu. and doubtless most expositors. ) (3) The literal resurrection at the time of the end. Delitzsch says it is the language of the Church in the last days after it has turned to God. Through long-continued sufferings and chas- tisement it has melted away to a small remnant, and many of those who could really be numbered among its members were now lying in their graves. It is, however, only the righteous “my dead bodtes’’ who shall arise, and it is the first resurrection of Rev. 20.4 which is here predicted. Alexander thinks this is plainly out of place here, and that be- sides they needed to be comforted with the promise of an earlier resurrection just as Martha did who was not satisfied with the promise of the resurrection at the last day. Scofield says, ““The restoration and re-establishment of Israel as a nation is also spoken of as a resurrection (Ezek. 37.1-11), and many hold that no more than this is meant here. But since the first resurrection is unto participation in the kingdom (Rev. 20.4-6) it seems the better view that both meanings be found here.’’ With this agree others (F. Ho.). The decision must depend upon the general view one takes of the entire prophecy under discussion, but the view of the last quoted authori- ties harmonizes with either. 20 Come, my people, enter thou into 21 For, behold Jehovah cometh forth thy chambers, and shut thy doors about out of his place to punish the inhabi- E ; tants of the earth for their iniquity: thee: hide thyself for a little moment, the earth also shall disclose her blood, until the indignation be overpast. and shall no more cover her slain. Vers. 20-21. “THE PUNISHMENT OF THE GOD-OPPOSED POWERS OF THE WORLD. Ver. 20. The ingenious Nagelsbach says we are here transported into the time after the resurrection. He says the time during which they are to hide is during the ‘“‘little season’’ while Satan is loosed just before the second resurrection. But surely the blessed dead could not be described, as they are here, as shades in misery who must hide after they have come forth in the first resurrection, even though this theory of the resurrection be a Scriptural one. ‘The words of this verse cannot be addressed to those mentioned in the preceding verse, but are addressed to individuals in exis- tence prior to that time. 82 ISAIAH Delitzsch says that no mention is made of the judgment which is to come upon the persecutors and oppressors of the Church until after the Church has been made up by the addition through the first resurrection of its members who had died, although this judgment in order actually pre- cedes this resurrection and uniting of God’s people. The ‘‘little moment’, he says, is the period of judgment on the ungodly which is shortened for the elects’ sake. Alexander, on the other hand, says, ‘“The people of God are here addressed as such, and warned to hide themselves until God's indignation against them is past. The relief from God’s displeasure, which had just been promised, must be preceded by the experience of the displeasure itself, for the time of His indignation is not yet past.” Fausset says, ‘‘When God is about to take vengeance on the ungodly, the saints shall be shut in by Him in a place of safety, as Noah and his family were in the days of the flood; the saints are calmly and confidently to await the issue.”’ It must not be overlooked that the words of this verse may be ad- dressed to those concerned in the preceding verse, in the sense that they are to remain in the grave until the time of this judgment be past. Such an interpretation is admissible both on the ground of a literal and of a figura- tive resurrection. The “hiding”’ referred to is, according to Delitzsch and Nagelsbach as well, the shutting of the Church off from the world in the solitude of prayer. Ver. 21. Some (Ros. Hit.) take the last clause as a prediction that the dead should actually come forth from their graves, but it is much more natural to understand the whole verse as a simple variation of the one before it. CHaworek eg WEN TY -SEVEN An amplification of the last verse of the preceding chapter. 1 In that day Jehovah with his hard shall blossom and bud; and they shall and great and strong sword will punish fill the face of the world with fruit. leviathan the ‘swift serpent, and levia- 7 Hath he smitten them as he smote than the “crooked serpent; and he will those that smote him? or are they slain slay the monster that is in the sea. according to the slaughter °of them that 2 In that day: A vineyard of wine, sing _were slain by them? 8 “In measure, ye ‘unto it. 3 I Jehovah am its keeper; “when thou sendest them away, thou I will water it every moment; lest any dost contend with them; he hath re- hurt it, I will keep it night and day. moved them with his rough blast in 4 Wrath is not in me: would that the the day of the east wind. 9 Therefore briers and thorns were against me in by this shall the iniquity of Jacob be battle! I would march upon them, I “forgiven, and this is all the fruit °of would burn them together. 5 Or else taking away his sin: that he maketh all let him take hold of my strength, that the stones of the altar as chalkstones that he may make peace with me; yea, let are beaten in sunder, so that the Asherim him make peace with me. 6 ‘In days and the sun-images shall rise no more. to come shall Jacob take root; Israel 10 For the fortified city is solitary, a 1Or, gliding Or, fleeing 5Or, of their slain 2Or, winding ®The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncer- 8Or, of tain. 4Or, Jn the generations that come 7Or, by sending them away 8Or, expiated "Or, to take away 83 ISAIAH habitation deserted and forsaken, like shall be broken off; the women shall the wilderness: there shall the calf feed, come, and set them on fire; for it is a and there shall he lie down, and con- people of no understanding; therefore f he that made them will not have com- sume the branches thereof. 11 When passion upon them, and he that formed the boughs thereof are withered, they them will show them no favor. Vers. 1-11. “THE JUDGMENT UPON JEHOVAH’S ENEMIES CONTINUED. Ver. 1. Jehovah’s destruction of the enemies of His people is here foretold as the slaughter of three great sea monsters. “In that day’’,—Indicating that what is introduced belongs to the same stage of the world’s history as that which has gone before. ~ It has been much disputed as to whether the destruction here pre- dicted is that of a single nation or of several, but the description seems to call for three. [hese monsters are most likely Egypt, Assyria and. Baby- lonia, but it is impossible to wholly identify them. (Na. Del.) Gill thinks the three are the Devil, the Beast and the False Prophet; while Fausset thinks the reference is to the great enemy of the Church, the Devil, the three expressions referring to the same individual. Ver. 2. This verse does not belong to the song itself, containing as it does only the theme and the summons to celebrate it in song. “a vineyard of wine’’,—The reference is to Israel, the Church, the people of God, elevated to high joy and honor while the worldly powers are annihilated. (F. Ma. Ho. Al. Na. Del.) Ver. 4. There are two explanations of this verse: (a) Iam no longer angry with my people. Oh, that their enemies, as thorns and briers, would array themselves against me that I might rush upon them and consume them. (F. Al. Del.) (b) It is not because I am angry that I thus afflict my people, but because she is a vineyard overrun by thorns and briers on account of which I must pass through her and consume her, i. e., burn the thorns and briers out of her. The first explanation is rightly preferred by most writers. Ver. 5. They must either be overcome by the storm of war just mentioned, or lay hold on the protection of God. Ver. 6. The prophet says here in figurative language what Paul declares in Rom. 11.12, that when Israel is restored to favor as a nation she will become ‘‘the riches of the Gentiles’’. Ver. 7. The thought runs thus: Did the Lord smite His people Israel as severely as He did the enemies whom He employed to chasttse Israel, or is Israel slain according to the slaughter wherewith the enemy is slain? No, indeed! Ver. 8. ‘This verse expresses more distinctly the negation implied in the preceding verse. Israel was moderately punished, and for a time only, by being removed out of her place as if by a transient storm or blast of wind. 84 ISAIAH Ver. 9. ““Therefore’’,—A conclusion drawn from the preceding “‘tn measure’. God's punishment is remedial. Ver. 10. “‘the fortified city ts solitary’’,—Delitzsch and Fausset think the reference is to Jerusalem, while Nagelsbach says it cannot possibly be Jerusalem but is the great city of the world, the center of the worldly power to which the prophet has:so repeatedly referred. ‘There are good arguments on either side. Either, however, would be appropriate in this connection as the interpretation of the chapter would not be affected one way or the other. In this verse and the following this city is depicted as a desolate, forsaken place, overgrown with bushes whose tender branches the calves eat off and whose withered twigs the women gather for fuel. 12 And it shall come to pass in that day, that Jehovah will *beat off his fruit from the flood of the River unto the brook of Egypt; and ye shall be “gathered “one by one, O ye children of Israel. 10r, deat out his grain 13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great trumpet shall be blown; and they shall come that were ‘ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and they that were outcasts in the land of Egypt; and they shall worship Jeho- vah in the holy mountain at Jerusalem. 4Or, lost *Or, gleaned 3Or, one to another Vers. 12-13. ISRAEL RESTORED. Ver. 12. To the downfall of the “fortified city’’ he now adds its most important consequences—the restoration of the Jews. The “‘river’’ is doubtless the Euphrates and the “‘brook of Egypt’ is the Nile or perhaps the Wady Elarish, and the simple meaning of the whole expression is from Assyria to Egypt. Gesenius says, ‘The kingdom will be repeopled to the fullest extent that had been promised, and that too, as rapidly and as numerous as if human beings were dropping like olives from the beaten trees.’’ But the word rendered “‘beat off’’ is the one employed usually to indicate the beat- ing out of those husked fruits which are too tender and valuable to be threshed, and the meaning therefore can hardly be that of a sudden stream- ing in of a great multitude, but refers the rather to the careful and com- plete ingathering of that which otherwise might be lost or left behind. Delitzsch contends that this verse does not relate to the gathering in of the Jews, but, with a somewhat far-fetched and strained exegesis, he says ’ that what is meant is the resurrection from the grave of the dead Jews as set forth in the previous chapter, to which thought the prophet here returns. But this conclusion, we feel, is unwarranted. The boundaries mentioned are not meant as defining the limits of the promised land to which Israel was to be gathered, but the rather the regions whence they should return. Ver. 13. This verse points to the same event as the one just before it, the gathering of Israel, only under a different figure. Delitzsch, in keeping with his explanation of the previous verse, says, “To the risen Church there comes the still [turing scattered ones, gathered by divine signal, not alone from Assyria and Egypt, though especially named, but from all the lands of exile.”’ Alexander says, ‘The application of this verse to a future restoration 85 ISAIAH of the Jews can neither be established nor disproved. If such a restora- tion can be otherwise shown to be a subject of prophecy, this passage may be naturally understood as at least comprehending it. But in itself con- sidered it appears to contain nothing which may not naturally be applied to events now long past or which has not found in those events an adequate fulfillment. Section Five. The Ungodly Alliance with Assyria and Egypt. CHAPTERS 28 TO 33. These chapters relate altogether to events of the prophet’s own day. Many writers see in the vivid descriptions of judgment pronounced and blessing promised a secondary reference to Jehovah's final judgment on the antichristian worldly powers and the kingdom blessings of Israel, as for instance Scofield, who says, ‘‘In these chapters the same blended meanings of near and far fulfillments are found—the near and far horizons blend— the near view being that of the Egyptian alliance and the Assyrian inva- sion while the far view is that of the end-time day of the Lord and the kingdom blessing to follow.”’ Of course all such prophecies may in a sense be said to be typical, and this secondary reference ought not perhaps to be denied to those who con- tend for its place in the prophet’s words, yet we feel the need of caution lest this mode of exegesis be pressed too far. ‘The expressions of the prophet, which may to some seem extravagant for merely local adaptation, may after all be thus understood in view of the highly picturesque and figurative language so peculiar to him throughout all his writings. The following are the passages under discussion: CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT 14 Wherefore hear the word of Jeho- agreement with Sheol shall not stand; vah, ye scoffers, that rule this» people when the overflowing scourge shall pass that is in Jerusalem: 15 Because ye have a then ye shall be trodden down , ‘ y sat, 19 As often as it passeth said, We have made a covenant with through, it shall take you; for morning death, and with Sheol are we at agree- by morning shall it pass through, by ment; when the overflowing scourge day and by night: and it shall be nought shall pass through, it shall not come but terror to understand the *message. unto us; for we have made lies our 20 For the bed is shorter than that a refuge, and under falsehood have we hid man can stretch himself on it; and the ourselves: 16 therefore thus saith the covering narrower than that he can Lord Jehovah, Behold, I ‘lay in Zion wrap himself in it. 21 For Jehovah for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, will rise up as in mount Perazim, he a precious corner-stone of sure founda- will be wroth as in the valley of Gib- tion: he that believeth shall not be in eon; that he may do his work, his haste. 17 And I will make justice the strange work, and bring to pass his act, line, and righteousness the plummet; his strange act. 22 Now therefore be and the hail shall sweep away the refuge ye not scoffers, lest your bonds be made of lies, and the waters shall overflow the strong; for *a decree of destruction have hiding-place. 18 And your covenant I heard from the Lord, Jehovah of with death shall be annulled and your hosts, upon the whole ‘earth. 10Or, have laid 2Or, report Heb. destruction, and that raceene 4Or, land 86 ISAIAH Vers. 14-22. "THE FATE OF EPHRAIM A WARNING TO JUDAH. Says Alexander, ‘“To their confident assurance of safety God opposes, first, the only sure foundation which He Himself had laid, and then the utter destruction which was coming on their own chosen objects of reli- ance.’’ By the art of falsehood, cunning policy and fine diplomacy they hope to be saved from death and hades, with which they imagine they have already formed an alliance. Assyria they compare to an overflowing scourge. By the “‘lies’’ and ‘“‘falsehood’’ they doubtless mean a secret league with Egypt while they were professing loyalty to Assyria in the days of their dependence on Assyria into which Ahaz had brought them. The “tried stone’ of verse 16 is of course the Messiah. Says Faus- set, ‘‘whether Isaiah understood the fullness or not, the Holy Spirit plainly contemplated its fulfillment in Christ alone.”’ Says Scofield, ‘There is in these verses a near reference to the Egyptian alliance (‘we have made a covenant’, etc.), while the reference to the stone in verse 16 carries the meaning forward to the end time, and the covenant of unbelieving Israel with the Beast (Dan. 9.27).” Blackstone says, ‘“The Antichrist will be received even by the Jews, who having returned to their own land and rebuilt their temple, will make a treaty with him, called by the Prophet Isaiah, ‘a covenant with death PD & and an agreement with hell’. CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE Vers. 3-8. 3 And I will encamp against thee round about, and will lay siege against thee with posted troops, and [ will raise siege works against thee. 4 And thou shalt be brought down, and shalt speak out of the ground, and thy speech shall be low out of the dust; and thy voice shall be as of one that hath a ‘familiar spirit, out of the ground, and thy speech shall ‘whisper out of the dust, 5 But the multitude of thy “foes shall be like small dust, and the multi- tude of the terrible ones as chaff that passeth away; yea, it shall be in an in- stant suddenly. 6 *She shall be visited 1Or, chirp “Heb. strangers 8Or, There shall be a visitation from Jeho- vah &c, of Jehovah of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with whirlwind and tempest, and the flame of a devouring fire. 7 And the multi- tude of all the nations that fight against Ariel, even all that fight against her and her stronghold, and that distress her, shall be as a dream, a vision of the night. 8 And it shall be as when a hungry man dreameth, and, behold, he eateth; but he awaketh, and his soul is empty: or as when a thirsty man dream- eth, and, behold, he drinketh; but he awaketh, and, behold, he is faint, and his soul hath appetite: so shall the mul- titude of all the nations be, that fight against mount Zion. ‘THE INVASION AND OVERTHROW OF THE ASSYRIAN Host. The city here mentioned is Jerusalem. Scofield says, ‘The near view is that of Sennacherib’s invasion and the destruction of the Assyrian host by the angel of the Lord; the far view is that of the final gathering of the Gentile hosts against Jerusalem at the end of the great tribulation, when a still greater deliverance will be wrought.” Fausset says, ‘“This prediction was not fully realized under Sennach- erib, but was under the Roman siege. It probably contemplates ultimately, 87 ISAIAH besides the affliction and deliverance in Sennacherib’s time, the destruc- tion of Jerusalem by Rome, the dispersion of the Jews, their restora- tion, the destruction of the enemies that besiege the Holy City (Zech. 14.2) and the final glory of Israel, as seen in verses 17 to 24. The ulterior ful- fillment of verse 6 in the case of the enemies of the Jews in the last days may be more literal.’’ 17 Is it not yet a very little while, and Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be esteemed as a forest? 18 And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of ‘the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of dark- ness. 19 The meek also shall increase their joy in Jehovah, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. 20 For the terrible one is brought to nought, and the scoffer ceas- for him that reproveth in the gate, and turn aside the just with a thing of nought. 22 Therefore thus saith Jehovah, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob: Jacob shall not now be ashamed, neither shall his face now wax pale. 23 *But when he seeth his chil- dren, the work of my hands, in the midst of him, they shall sanctify my name; yea, they shall sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and shall stand in awe of the God of Israel. 24 They also that eth, and all they that watch for iniquity are cut off ; 21 that “make a man an offender “in Ais cause, and lay a snare err in spirit “shall come to understand- ing, and they that murmur shall receive instruction, 4Or, But when his children see &c. 5Heb. shall know understanding 10Or, a book (or, writing) 2Or, make men to offend by their eioras 30r, for a word Vers. 17-24. “THE BLESSING OF ISRAEL AFTER DELIVERANCE. The moral change in the Jewish nation is to be as great as if the wooded Lebanon were to become a fruitful field and vice versa. Nagelsbach thinks the meaning is that the lofty Lebanon (Assyria) shall be brought low and the lowly field (Israel) shall be exalted. But the comparison seems to be between the cultivated and the wild rather than between the high and the low. Delitzsch says there is a promise in both clauses and that the last clause means that what they now call a fruitful field shall then be so much more so that what they now esteem a fruitful field will seem as if it were a forest in comparison with itself in the days to come. Fausset however takes the last clause as a threat, and says the meaning of the whole passage is that in the Messianic days men’s hearts which were once a moral desert (the wooded Lebanon) are to be reclaimed so as to . bear fruits of righteousness, whereas, vice versa, the ungodly who seem prosperous both in the moral and literal sense (the fruitful field) shall be exhibited in their real barrenness. Scofield takes the words of this section as a type of the kingdom blessings which are to follow the days of tribulation. Nagelsbach says, ‘“Uhe prospect of blessedness which the prophet here presents belongs also to the days of the Messiah, as we clearly perceive from verses 18 and 19; for in fact he here beholds along with the near view the time of the end, and in holding out the prospect of this reformation within a brief period he does so in the exercise of that prophetic manner of con- templation which reckons the times not according to a human but a divine measure.” 88 ISAIAH Fausset says the reference contemplates the outpouring of the Spirit ‘in the latter days, first on the Jews, which shall be followed by their national restoration, and then on the Gentiles. ree tea TR TY, Vers. 23-33, 23 And he will give the rain for thy seed, wherewith thou shalt sow the ground; and bread of the increase of the ground, and it shall be fat and plente- ous. In that day shall thy cattle feed in large pastures; 24 the oxen likewise and the young asses that till the ground shall eat savory provender, which hath been winnowed with the shovel and with the fork. 25 And there shall be upon every lofty mountain, and upon every high hill, brooks and streams of waters, in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall. 26 Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that Jehovah bindeth up the hurt of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound. 27 Behold, the name of Jehovah cometh from far, burning with his an- ger, and in thick rising smoke: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue is as a devouring fire; 28 and his breath is as an overflowing stream, that reach- eth even unto the neck, to sift the na- DEVASTATION. tions with the sieve of destruction: and a bridle that causeth to err shall be in the jaws of the peoples. 29 Ye shall have a song as in the night ‘when a holy feast is kept; and gladness of heart, as when one goeth with a pipe to come unto the mountain of Jehovah, to the Rock of Israel. 30 And Jehovah will cause his glorious voice to be heard, and will show the lightning down of his arm, with the indignation of his anger, and the flame of a devouring fire, with “a blast, and tempest, and _ hail- stones. 31 For through the voice of Jehovah shall the Assyrian be dismayed; with his rod will he smite him. 32 And every “stroke of the “appointed staff, which Jehovah shall lay upon him, shall be with the sound of tabrets and harps; and in battles with the brandish- ing of his arm will he fight with them. 33 For a Topheth is prepared of old; yea, for the king it is made ready; he hath made it deep and large; the pile thereof is fire and much wood; the breath of Jehovah, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it. 1Or, when a feast is hallowed “Or, crashing ®Heb. passing 4Or, staff of doom (Heb. foundation) THE BLESSINGS WHICH ARE To FOLLOW ISRAEL’S Here is a promise of increased prosperity after a dreadful period of war and devastation through which the Jews are to pass. What Scofield calls ‘‘a foreshadowing of kingdom blessing’ Rosen- muller designates as ‘‘a description of the Golden Age.”’ Says Nagelsbach, ‘‘The glorious time of the end lies beyond a dread- ful period which first must be passed through. ‘This latter he has de- scribed so often as to be able to suppose that these brief allusions would be quite well understood by his readers.”’ Ver. 25. Even the otherwise barren hills shall then flow with water, a common figure for a great change for the better. Hitzig interprets the “towers’’ as living towers, i. e., the Assyrian chiefs. But as the slaughter pertains here chiefly to the Jews it would seem that the towers ought also to find their reference in Jewish associa- tion. Knobel refers them to the fortifications of the Jews which would no longer be needed in the happy times described, while Delitzsch thinks they refer to Jewish self-confidence and pride. Perhaps Nagelsbach is right when 89 ISAIAH he says, “‘I find here simply an allusion to the great judgments which must fall on people and city before the day of redemption. ‘The old theo- cratic Jerusalem with its towers and its temples is reduced to ruins while ~ streams of blood have at the same time flown.” Gill refers the “‘slaughter’’ to that of the antichristian kings described in Rev. 19.17-21, and among other references Vitringa finds one to the seventh apocalyptic period. Ver. 26. The shining of the moon and the sun must of course here be taken in a figurative sense, an image from the heavenly bodies to express either, as Fausset says, ‘‘the increase of spiritual light and felicity’’, or as Alexander says, ‘‘some great revolution in the state of society’’. ‘This verse’, says Nagelsbach, ‘‘transports us into a time which lies beyond the present state of things, though not into the time of the new heavens and the new earth, for the present sun and the present moon still exist."’ He quotes Delitzsch as being certainly right in saying, “‘It is not the new heaven of which the prophet here speaks, but that glorification of nature promised both in the Old and the New Testament prophecy for the final period of the world’s history’’. (Compare, says Nagelsbach, Rev. 20.1-4.) Ver. 27. ‘The imagery of verses 27 and 28 is cumulative. Judah is making an alliance with Egypt when she might be in league with Him whose judgment upon the world-powers will be like a terrible thunder- tempest (verse 27), turning streams into torrents neck-deep (verse 28, Me: ); who will sift the nations in their own sieve of vanity (or ‘destruc- tion ) and put His bridle into the jaws of the peoples.’’ (Sco.) “the name of Jehovah’’,—Many authorities take this expression as meaning Jehovah Himself (F. Del.) and this is no doubt its immediate reference. Others would have us believe it refers to Him who is the Agent in every revelation of the Godhead, and accordingly He to whom the Father hath committed all judgment, the Messiah, and this may rightly be said to be its secondary reference, and Nagelsbach says, ‘‘He cometh to judgment from afar because He comes from heaven’. Ver. 28. “‘to sift the nations with the steve of destruction’ ,—Some say this is a sieve which lets only the light, useless grain fall through it to destruction; but it is a sieve of ruin, of emptiness, of falsehood, pointing out the issue of the process, and we believe those right who see here, as Gill - does, that, ‘‘they were to be sifted not with a good and profitable sieve, which retains the corn and shakes out the chaff, but with a sieve that lets all through and so reduces to nothingness all who find themselves in it.’”’ Ch o Aly 1:0. Bara) “a bridle that causeth to err’’,—Most interpreters see “here the specific sense of leading astray, causing to go in the wrong direction, the bridle put in their jaws compelling them to go from the way they had intended. Ver. 29. As in the Passover-night they celebrated with songs their deliverance from Egypt so shall they celebrate their deliverance from the bondage here under view, and the festal processions in which, accompanied with song and music, they used to go up to the temple is but a-type of the joy that shall in that day be granted to Israel. 90 ISAIAH Ver. 31. Those who contend for the blending of the near and far fulfillments of this prophecy see of course in Assyria not only the then existing Gentile power but a type of the world-power at the end of this age, and even Alexander says, “The express mention of Assyria in this verse, although it does not prove it to have been from the beginning the specific subject of the prophecy, does show that it was a conspicuous object in Isaiah’s view, as an example both of danger and of deliverance, and that at this point he concentrates his prophetic vision on this object as a signal illustration of the general truths which he has been announcing.”’ Ver. 32. “shall be with the sound of tabrets and harps’, i. e., on the part of the people of Jerusalem who have only to look on and rejoice in the coming deliverance. “with the brandishing of his arm’’,—The literal is “battles of swing- ing’, or ‘‘battles of shaking’’, and the idea seems to be that it is not to be with darts or other weapons, but that with the incessant swinging of His arm He will smite Assyria. Ver. 33. “Tophet means a place of burning. “The Tophet in the valley of Hinnon was a place of sacrifice dedicated to Moloch, and here the idea is only that of a Tophet-like place. “The words contain a figurative representation of Assyria’s temporal doom and a premonition of his doom hereafter. CHAPTER THIRTY+ONE Vers. | to 3 contain another warning against trusting in the chariots of Egypt through an alliance with that ungodly power. Vers. 4 to 5 express Jehovah’s determination and power to save those who put their trust in Him. Vers. 6 to 9 invite the children of Israel to return to Jehovah, as they will be constrained to do with shame when they behold the judgment which He is about to bring upon their oppressors. CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO 1 Behold, a king shall reign in right- noble, nor the *churl said to be bounti- eousness, and princes shall rule in jus- ful. 6 For the fool will speak folly, tice. 2 And a man shall be as a hiding- and his heart will work iniquity, to place from the wind, and a covert from practice profaneness, and to utter error the tempest, as streams of water in a against Jehovah, to make empty the dry place, as the shade of a great rock soul of the hungry, and to cause the in a weary land. 3 And the eyes of drink of the thirsty to fail. 7 And the them that see shall not be ‘dim, and the instruments of the churl are evil; he de- ears of them that hear shall hearken. viseth wicked devices to destroy the 4 And the heart of the *rash shall under- ‘meek with lying words, even when the stand knowledge, and the tongue of the needy speaketh right. 8 But the noble stammerers shall be ready to speak plain- deviseth noble things; and ‘in noble ly. 5 The fool shall be no more called things shall he continue. 10r, closed 8Or; weit "Heb. hasty 4Or, poo 5Or, by : Bbarad things shall he stand 91 ISAIAH Vers. 1-8. "THE PROMISE OF THE KING AND HIS RIGHTEOUS GOVERN- MENT. Scofield remarks here again that in this chapter and the three follow- ing the same blended meanings of near and far fulfillments are found, the near view being still of Sennacherib’s invasion and the far view the day of the Lord and the kingdom blessing to follow. These eight verses continue the promises of the foregoing text. Ver. 1. “‘a king’’,—The reference may be to Hezekiah’s reign as at least a beginning and foretaste of what is here promised, but, as Fausset says, ‘‘If Hezekiah be meant at all it can only be as a type of Messiah, the King, to whom alone the language is fully applicable’, for, as Nagelsbach says, ‘Only in Messianic times can the kind of a rule prophesied be true.”’ “princes shall rule tn justice’’,—To whom these refer in the far view of the prophecy is not easy to determine unless, as Fausset says, “‘to all in authority under Christ in the coming kingdom on earth, e. g., the Apostles, etc., but this Alexander calls very forced and neither justified nor required by the context. Ver. 2. “a man shall be’’, etc..—Most late interpreters give to “man” the sense of a distributive pronoun meaning death, i. e., each of the princes just mentioned. The word is, however, seldom so used except with a plural verb, and the meaning here is rather that there shall be a man on the throne who instead of oppressing will protect the helpless. Ver. 3. ‘The reference is to spiritual transformations and the verse applies to the people generally. Ver. 4. It would seem best to understand flees bodily defects as denoting others of an intellectual and spiritual nature. Vers. 9-13. In these verses the prophet reverts to the rane of coming disaster and addresses especially the proud women who by their luxurious habits contribute so largely to existing evils and for whom the coming invasion would be especially disastrous. 14 For the palace shall be forsaken; in the fruitful field. 17 And the work the populous city shall be deserted; the of righteousness shall be peace; and the : effect of righteousness, quietness and hill and the watch-tower shall be for confidence for ever, 118 And my people dens for ever, a joy of wild asses, a pas- shall abide in a peaceful habitation, and ture of flocks; 15 until the Spirit be in safe dwellings, and in quiet resting- poured upon us from on high, and the places. 19 But it shall hail in the wilderness become a fruitful field, and downfall of the forest; and the city the fruitful field be esteemed as a forest. shall be utterly laid low. 20 Blessed are 16 Then justice shall dwell in the ye that sow beside all waters, that send wilderness; and righteousness shall abide forth the feet of the ox and the ass. Vers. 14-20. “THE FUTURE GLORY OF THE NATION. Ver. 15. This verse tells how long the desolation is to last, i. e., until, etc. Nagelsbach calls the passage between this verse and the pre- ceding one, ‘‘a bold bridge from the then present into the remote future’’. He says, ‘““Uhe prophet sets the glorious Messianic last time over against the pernicious then present time, yet in a way that overlaps the long inter- vening centuries, and sees the future directly behind the present. How far-reaching and comprehensive is the gaze of the prophet here!”’ 92 ; ISAIAH 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 (Zech. 12.10; Ezek. 36.26; 39.29), when the Spirit shall be poured on Israel, and through her on the Gentiles (Micah 5.7). The desolation is to last, as Alexander says, ‘‘until by a special divine influence a total revolution shall take place in the character, and as a neces- sary consequence in the condition of the people. “To attempt to restrict it to the return from exile, or to the day of Pentecost, or to some. great effusion of the Spirit upon the Jews still future, perverts the passage by making that its whole meaning, which at most is but a part.’ For explanation of the latter part of the verse see Chap. 29.17. Ver. 16. This verse does not apparently mean that both in the culti- vation of the wilderness and the desolation of the field the righteousness of God shall be displayed; it means rather that what is now a wilderness and what is now a fruitful field shall both alike be the abode of justice and righteousness. Ver. 19. “the downfall of the forest’’,—-The “‘forest’’ we know to be an emblem of Assyria (Chap. 10.34), the Assyrian host dense as the trees of a forest. “and the city shall be utterly laid low’’,—Some think this an instance of ‘“‘prophetic recurrence from remoter promises to nearer threats’’, as if he had said, ‘Before these things come to pass the city must first be laid low’, the subject therefore being the same as that in verse 13, i. e., Jerusalem. Aamo els tite Gas:) Others take it, and as we think more properly, as a direct continua- tion according to which it must be taken as the downfall of some hostile city. Fausset thinks of Ninevah, as do probably the most. In a sense it is of course the world-city, as others take it. (Na. Dre. Ros.) Nagels- bach asks, ““Why of a sudden this dark trait in the picture of light? Is not the abasement of Jerusalem sufficiently declared in verses 13 and 14? Why a repetition here? If the forest that falls under the hail-storm means the world-power generally, then the city must mean the world-city.”’ Ver. 20. Delitzsch says here, ‘“They sow wherever they please, by all waters that fertilize the soil, on fruitful land requiring little toil to cultivate it, and because everything is rich in abundance they can let oxen and asses roam at large.’ ,(.Na. He.) Some think the last clause refers to the custom of sending forth the oxen and asses to tread the ground before sowing (F. Lo.), while Ewald, with Alexander, explains the passage exclusively of moral cultivation, im- plying that none can expect to reap good without diligently sowing it. CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE 1 Woe to thee that destroyest, and stroyed: and when thou hast made an thou wast not destroyed; and dealest end of dealing treacherously, they shall treacherously, and they dealt not treach- deal treacherously with thee. 2 O Je- erously with thee! When thou hast hovah, be gracious unto us; we have ceased to destroy, thou shalt be de- waited for thee; be thou ‘our arm every 1Heb. their 3) ISAIAH morning, our salvation also in the time of trouble. 3 At the noise of the tumult the peoples are fled; at the lifting up of thyself the nations are scattered. 4 And your spoil shall be gathered as the cater- pillar gathereth; as locusts leap shall men leap upon it. 5 Jehovah is exalt- ed, for he dwelleth on high: he hath filled Zion with justice and righteous- ness. 6 “And there shall be stability in thy times, abundance of salvation, wis- dom, and knowledge: the fear of Jeho- vah is *thy treasure. 7 Behold, their valiant ones cry without; the ambassadors of peace weep bitterly. 8 The highways lie waste, the wayfaring man ceaseth: “the enemy hath broken the covenant, he hath de- spised the cities, he regardeth not man. 9 The land mourneth and languisheth; Lebanon is confounded and withereth away; Sharon is like °a desert; and Bashan and Carmel shake off their leaves. 10 Now will I arise saith Jeho- vah; now will I lift up myself; now will I be exalted. 11 Ye shall conceive chaff, ye shall bring forth stubble; your breath is a fire that shall devour you. 12 And the peoples shall be as the burn- ings of lime, as thorns cut down, that are burned in the fire. \ 13 Hear, ye that are far off, what I have done; and, ye that are near, acknowledge my might. 14 The sin- ners in Zion are afraid; trembling hath seized the godless ones: Who among us can dwell with the devouring fire? who among us can dwell with everlasting burnings? 15 He that walketh right- "Or, And abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times. 5Heb. his *Heb. he "Or, the Arabah eously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth ithe gain of “oppressions, that shaketh his hands from taking a bribe, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from look- ing upon evil: 16 he shall dwell on high; his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks; his bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure. 17 Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty; they shall behold ‘a land that reacheth afar. 18 Thy heart shall muse on the terror: Where is “he that counted, where is he that weighed the tribute? where is he that counted the towers? 19 Thou shalt not see the fierce people, a people of a deep speech | that thou canst not comprehend, of a “strange tongue that thou canst not understand. 20 Look upon Zion, the city of our *solemnities; thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tent that shall not be removed, the stakes whereof shall never be plucked up, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken. 21 But there Jehovah will be with us in majesty, “a place of broad rivers and streams, wherein shall go no galley with oars, neither shall gallant ship pass thereby. 22 For Jehovah is our judge, Jehovah is our lawgiver, Je- hovah is our king; he will save us. 23 Thy tacklings are loosed; they could not strengthen the foot of their mast, they could not spread the sail: then was the prey of a great spoil divided; the lame took the prey. 24 And the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick: the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity. SOr, fraud 7Or, a land that is very far of Heb. a land of far distances. SOr, the scribe "Or, stammering Or, set feasts Or, dut in the place ....s streams there shall go, &c. Vers. 1-24. THE WOE UPON ASSYRIA AND THE SALVATION OF JERU- SALEM. Ver. 1. The enemy addressed is rightly taken by the majority to be Assyria. “The words are of course applicable to any oppressive and deceitful enemy. Some think that Nebuchadnezzar is meant either as an individual or as a representative of the Assyrian power. Vitringa thinks of Antiochus Epiphanes, Jerome of Satan, while Gill thinks by this enemy the Antichrist is meant. The enemy is described as acting without provocation and as having never yet suffered reverses. Ver. 3. “At the noise of the tumult’’,—'The approach of Jeho- vah’’, says Fausset, “‘is likened to an advancing thunder storm, which is 94 ISAIAH His voice causing ‘the peoples’, the Assyrians, to flee.’’ He lets them hear a voice which, as it were, has no actual existence. The verse is addressed to Jehovah. “the lifting up of thyself’’,—1i. e., when, in order to strike, one rouses himself from a state of seeming inaction. Ver. 4. The address is to the Assyrians. The prophet sees the Israelites plundering their camp and gathering the spoil as the caterpillars (the wingless locust) gather, that is, greedily and thoroughly, not leaving a field or a tree until they have stripped it. “as locusts leap’’,—1i. e. eagerly, voraciously, with a view to satisfy- ing the appetite. Ver. 6. The object of the address is most probably the people of Judah (K. Al. Na. Del.), and not Hezekiah, for which latter there is no reason, the same being true of the explanation which refers the object to the Messiah. The Hebrew for “‘thy”’ is “‘his’’, but it either refers to the same object, i. e., Judah, by a change of person common in Hebrew poetry, and is therefore properly rendered “‘thy’’ in our text; or if “‘his’’ be retained it must be made to mean Jehovah's treasure which He bestows. Ver. 7. From the vision of future glory the prophet returns to the disastrous present. These “‘valiant ones’ and the “‘ambassadors’’ of the next clause, ap- parently one and the same, are not those sent by Hezekiah to Isaiah, but they are the messengers sent to Sennacherib to treat for peace, the messengers sent by Hezekiah to the Assyrian king (II Kings 18.14-18). “Their terms were accepted and the peace money handed over, after which the Assyrian commander would not retire but demanded the surrender of Jerusalem: hence the bitter weeping. “cry without’’,—1. e., probably without the enemy’s camp. Ver. 8. The scene presented is that of the condition of Judah dur- ing the Assyrian invasion. Gill thinks it is that of the Protestant cities seized by Antichrist and a stop put to their religious course and conver- sation. Ver. 9. The most fertile and flourishing parts of the country are here described as desolate, the language being figurative of course, which may be inferred from the fact that none of the places mentioned are in Judah. Ver. 11. “chaff... stubble’’,—TVhe common Scriptural figure for failure. “breath’’,—Various renderings are ‘‘puffings’’ (Na.) ‘‘anger’’ (Gro.), ‘pride’ (Cle.), ‘panting’ (Del.); their rage against Jerusalem is the fire that shall consume them. Ver. 12. ‘“‘the peoples’’,—i. e., primarily the races mingled in the Assyrian army, but in general all nations that defy God. Gill refers this verse to the future destruction of antichristian Rome. ieve U/a 65 °1:8:8; ) Ver. 13. “ye that are afar off’’ and “‘ye that are near’’ refer doubt- less to all people without exception. (PVA Bare) Hendewerk says 95 ISAIAH they are the ten tribes and the two tribes; Junius and Nagelsbach say they are the Gentiles and the Jews, while Delitzsch says it refers to a farness and nearness to God of those who are in Jerusalem. Ver. 14. “The sinners in Zion’ ,—i. e., the impious Jews. What follows is the language of the wicked Jews in Jerusalem and is expressive of their terror, alarm and desperation. “The “‘devouring fire’ is therefore not the wrath of God as executed by the Assyrians (Gro. Pis.), but the wrath of God as executed on or against the Assyrians, and the thought is, If this be a specimen of God’s vindicatory justice, what can we expect? Who of us can dwell with this devouring fire? Henderson, not without some reason, thinks the reference is to eternal punishment, and that the argument is from the less to the greater, namely, if these are God’s temporal judgments what must His eternal wrath be; who of us can dwell with such devouring fire? Ver. 15. This is taken by many (F. Na. Del.) as an answer to the question of the preceding verse. If this be proper, then that verse cannot refer to future punishment because the righteous are not supposed to endure that. It may be so taken if the ‘“‘devouring fire’ refers only to God’s judgments against the Assyrians, because the righteous man shall be secure in the midst of such devouring fire of Jehovah. We believe it is best, however, to separate this verse from the preced- ing context, making it the beginning, as it were, of a new paragraph, be- cause the sentence is plainly incomplete 1 in this verse and finds its conclusion in the next. (Al. He.) Ver. 16. “dwell on high’’,—Not exalted position, but safety from enemies. ‘‘Enclosed as within the impregnable walls of a rocky fortress on inaccessible heights.’ (Del.) Ver. 17. “the king in his beauty’’,—Some refer this to Hezekiah exclusively. (AI. Del. Ges.) Delitzsch says, ‘““The king of Judah hither- to deeply abased by tyrannous oppression and unfortunate wars, is then glorified by the victory of his God, and the nation, answering to the description of verses 15 and 16, shall behold him in his God-given beauty.” Calvin, Nagelsbach and others think of King Hezekiah as a type of the Christ, while Fausset and Abarbenel think only of the Messiah. Faus- set says, ‘“‘Not as now, Hezekiah i in sackcloth oppressed by the enemy, but King Eee in His beauty.”’ “a land that reacheth afar’’,—1i. e., a land of far stretching extent (Del.), a wide-extended land (Na.), the land in its remotest extent (F.). Luther thinks of the land as actually extended by conquered territory, while Hitzig says that they can see from Jerusalem far and wide because their view is no longer obstructed by fortresses, entrenchments and the presence of the enemy. The Hebrew is “a land of far distances’. Ver. 18. They reflect on the terror that is now past. The scribe, the collector of tribute, the weigher who tested the weight of the gold and silver paid in as tribute money, and the counter of the towers who drew up the plan of the city that was to be attacked—these are all vanished. Ver. 19. The Assyrians, a people of fierce, insolent bearing, of ; 96 ISAIAH obscure, unintelligible (“‘deep’’) speech and obscure (‘“‘stammering’’ or _“strange’’) tongue so perplexing to the Israelites, will have disappeared from the land. Ver. 20. The beauty of the imagery lies in ascribing permanency to a tent which, from its very nature, is movable and undependable. Ver. 21. Babylon, Ninevah and other great cities were usually defended by great rivers and river canals. Jerusalem had none such, but Jehovah, figuratively speaking, will be to her such river defenses, and neither oar-ship nor sail-ship (ships of war) shall be able to pass these mighty waters. Others contend that the collocation of words forbids this interpretation, and they read ‘‘But a glorious One dwells there for us, Jehovah”’ (Del.), or ‘‘But there shall Jehovah be mighty for us’’ (Al.) ,— then in consequence of His dwelling there Jerusalem shall be like a place of rivers, etc. Ver. 23. A sudden apostrophe to the enemy considered as a ship. “they could not strengthen the foot of their mast’’,—1. e., they could not hold firm the support, the socket of the mast. By many these words are held as addressed to Jerusalem (Na. Or. Del. Dre. Che.). But the reasons adduced by Nagelsbach, who says we stand again in this verse in the period before the overthrow of the Assyrians, are not at all convincing, and it is better to take the address as being made to Assyria, as do the majority of writers. (F. Al. Ew. Bi. Reu. Luz. Bar.) When Assyria is spoiled the lame will join in the pillage, by which statement the eagerness of the gathering in of the spoil is pictured. Ver. 24. “The inhabitants shall not say, I am sick’’,—Either there shall be no sickness or those who are sick shall recover. “shall be forgiven their tniquity’’,—Some interpret the sickness as a spiritual malady and so take this clause as meaning the same as the one that went before it. Others take it as explaining that bodily sickness is caused by sin (F. Na. Al.). The words really mean that all sickness shall cease with sin. ‘“The words’’, says Alexander, “‘are strictly applicable only to a state of things still future, either upon earth or in heaven.”’ Section Six. The Eschatological Judgment of the Nations and the Redemption of Israel. CHAPTERS 34 AND 35 CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR 1 Come near, ye nations, to hear; and cast out, and the stench of their dead hearken, ye peoples: let the earth hear, bodies shall come up; and the mountains and the fullness thereof; the world, and shall be melted with their blood. 4 And all things that come forth from it. 2 all the host of heaven shall *be dissolved, For Jehovah hath indignation against and the heavens shall be rolled together all the nations, and wrath against as a scroll; and all their host shall fade all their host: he hath ‘utterly destroyed away, as the leaf fadeth from off the them, he hath delivered them to the vine, and as a fading leaf from the fig- slaughter. 3 Their slain also shall be tree, Heb. devoted *Or, moulder away OF ISAIAH Vers. 1-4. “THE JUDGMENT ON THE WHOLE WORLD. Some have applied this section as well as what follows to the desola- tion of Edom (Gro. Schi.), but there is little doubt but that it belongs to the judgment of the end-time because it takes place with the contempo- raneous destruction of the present heaven and earth. (F. Na. Eu. Cy. Del.) Scofield says it is the battle of Armageddon. Ver. 1. The summons goes forth to the whole of nature, imper- sonal as well as personal, because the former will have to share in this judg- ment. ‘They are not invited to witness but to hear about this judgment. Ver. 3. “the mountains shall be melted with their blood’’,—i. e., as they are sometimes washed away by the rain. Ver. 4. “And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved’’,—The verb rendered “‘dissolve’’ is commonly applied to pining away through disease. In Psa. 38.6 it means to “‘run as a sore’ and from this Gesenius, adopting the poetical notion of likening the stars to wax candles, gets the idea of melting. Maurer therefore quite aptly takes the expression as a statement that the heavenly bodies will pine away into sickly, dying lights. (V. Al.) “rolled together as a scroll’’,—Pfeiffer has well said that as Jehovah is elsewhere said to have stretched out the heavens as a curtain, so their destruction or any total change in their appearance would be described as a rolling up of the expanse. 5 For my sword hath drunk its fillin ~ ever; from generation to generation it heaven: behold, it shall come down up- shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever. 11 But the pelican oF) Edom, and upon the people of my and the porcupine shall possess it; and curse, to judgment. 6 The sword of the owl and the raven shall dwell there- Jehovah is filled with blood, it is made in: and he will stretch over it the line fat with fatness, with the blood of of confusion, and the ‘plummet of emp- lambs and goats, with the fat of the kid- tiness. 12 °They shall call the nobles neys of rams; for Jehovah hath a sacri- thereof to the kingdom, but none shall fice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in be there; and all its princes shall be the land of Edom. 7 And the wild- nothing. 13 And thorns shall come up oxen shall come down with them, and in its palaces, nettles and thistles in the the bullocks with the bulls: and their fortresses thereof; and it shall be a habi- land shall be drunken with blood; and tation of jackals, a court of ostriches. their dust made fat with fatness. 14 And the wild beasts of the desert 8 For Jehovah hath a day of ven- shall meet with the *wolves, and the geance, a year of recompense for the wild goat shall cry to his fellow; yea, cause of Zion. 9 And the streams “of "the night-monster shall settle there, and Edom shall be turned into pitch, and shall find her a place of rest. 15 There the dust thereof into brimstone, and the shall the dart-snake make her nest, and land thereof shall become burning pitch. lay, and hatch, and gather under her 10 It shall not be quenched night nor shade; yea, there shall the kites be gath- day; the smoke thereof shall go up for ered, every one with her mate. 1Heb. devoting, or, ban 3Or, dittern "Heb. thereof 4*Heb. stones 5Or, As for her nobles, none shall be there.to proclaim the kingdom ®Heb. howling creatures THeb. Lilith Vers. 5-15. “THE JUDGMENT ON EDOM AS REPRESENTING ALL HOSTILE WORLD-POWER. Ver. 5. “my sword hath drunk its fill in heaven’’,—God’s sword is here described as drunk with wrath in heaven before it is drunk with 98 ISAIAH wrath on earth. (Del. Ges.) The saying is one doubtless expressing ‘divine fore-ordination: In the sight of God the sword, although not yet actually used, was already dripping with blood. “people of my curse’,—This expression is not to be extended to other nations (Ju.), but is a repetition pointing again to Edom as the people doomed to the curse of God. Ver. 6. The Edomites are regarded as a sacrifice and here compared to sheep, goats and rams. Bozra is the chief city of Edom. “made fat with fatness’’,—1i. e., smeared with the fat and the blood as the animal substance offered in sacrifice. mV eres. Some think the “wild oxen’ or “wild buffalo’”’ refers to malignant enemies, but it means rather that the wild as well as the tame animals will be included in the slaughter. ‘ “shall come down with them’’,—i. e., either to the slaughter, or come down’’, meaning to fall or sink under the fatal stroke. Ver. 9. Here is signified the completest destruction, as if her streams were turned to pitch, and her dust to sulphur. Nagelsbach says, ‘‘When the streams are flowing with pitch and the dust is sulphur the whole land will become a place of fearful conflagration.”’ Gill applies the last clause to the future burning of Rome as in Rev. L7.16-and: 18.8. Ver. 10. ‘“‘The inextinguishable fire and the eternally ascending smoke’, says Delitzsch, ‘“‘prove that the final end is referred to (Rev. Lay “It is’, says Nagelsbach, ‘‘the flame of the last judgment and the burning continues forever and ever.” (F.) Alexander, on the other hand, remarks that while these images are copied in Rev. 14.10,11, it does not follow that the copy was intended to determine the sense of the original. Ver. 11. As right building demands the measuring line and the’ plummet, so God will move deliberately and by rule in His work of destruction. Ver. 12. In as much as “‘nobles’’ is a nominative absolute, it is far better here to read with the margin, ‘‘As for her nobles, none shall be there to proclaim the kingdom. The nobles and princes have come to nothing.” Vers. 14-15. The general sense of these two verses is that the human population shall be succeeded by wild and lonely animals, implying total and continued desolation, and there is no need to concern ourselves with the detailed discussion in the various commentaries as to the particu- lar species of animal referred to in each case. 16 Seek ye out of the book of Jeho- he hath cast the lot for them, and his vah, and read: no one of these shall be hand hath divided it unto them by line: missing, none shall want her mate; for they shall possess it for ever; from gen- my mouth, it hath commanded, and his eration to generation shall they dwell Spirit, it hath gathered them. 17 And therein. 99 ISAIAH Vers. 16,17. A SUMMONS TO COMPARE THE PROPHECY WITH ITs FULFILLMENT. Ver. 16. [he persons addressed are the future witnesses of the events here predicted. The prophet seems to take his stand at a point of time after the event. “the book of Jehovah’’,—We prefer, with Kimchi and Alting, to refer this to the prophecy just delivered, although, as Alexander says, it may be referred to prophecy in general or to the entire Scriptures without material change of sense. Other explanations are His decrees (Ab.), His record of events (For.), that part of Genesis relating to unclean animals (Jar.), the law in general (C.) the book of Revelation (Gill). The pronouns in this verse and the next refer to the animals afore- mentioned. “my mouth... his Spirit’’,—The sudden change of persons has led to various explanations, but on the whole the explanation of Delitzsch is to be preferred. He renders, ‘“‘my mouth and its breath’, thus making God the speaker in both instances. Indeed it is not even necessary to change the form of the pronoun, for such changes of person are frequent in Hebrew poetry. Ver. 17. As Canaan was divided by lot and measuring line to Israel, so Edom is allotted to these doleful creatures. \ CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE 1 The wilderness and the dry land shall waters break out, and streams in shall be glad; and the desert shall re- the desert. 7 And the *glowing sand joice, and blossom as the ‘rose. 2 It shall become a pool, and the thirsty shall biossom abundantly, and rejoice ground springs of water; in the habita- even with joy and singing; the glory of tion of jackals, where they lay, shall be - Lebanon shall be given unto it, the ex- °grass with reeds and rushes. 8 And a cellency of Carmel and Sharon: they highway shall be there, and a way, and shall see the glory of Jehovah, the ex- it shall be called The way of holiness; cellency of our God. the unclean shall not pass over it; but 3 Strengthen ye the weak hands, and it shall be for ‘the redeemed: the way- confirm the “feeble knees. 4 Say to them faring men, yea fools, shall not err that are of a “fearful heart, Be strong, therein. 9 No lion shall be there, nor fear not: *behold, your God will come shall any ravenous beast go up thereon; with vengeance, with the recompense of they shall not be found there; but the God; he will come and save you. redeemed shall walk there; 10 and the 5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be ransomed of Jehovah shall return, and opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be come with singing unto Zion; and ever- unstopped. 6 Then shall the lame man lasting joy shall be upon their heads: leap as a hart, and the tongue of the they shall obtain gladness and joy, and dumb shall sing; for in the wilderness sorrow and sighing shall flee away. 1Or, Autumn crocus 5Or, mirage *Or, tottering SOr, a court for reeds, &c. Heb. hasty THeb. them 4Or, behold, your God! Vengeance will come, even the recompense of Go Vers. 1-10. JSRAEL’S REDEMPTION AND REGATHERING. Ver. 1. This and the following verse, as someone has well said, prepare the theater in general, as it were, for the return of- Israel, which return is to be through the desert, a desert, however, which shall conform 100 ISAIAH to the blessed people who wander through it,—it will change its nature; hitherto a place of cursing, the abode of demons, it will become a place of blessing, a paradise. “blossom as the rose’’,—Perhaps crocus, or narcissus, or lily are nearer the original meaning, but the “‘rose’’ is true to poetry if not to botany, and is perhaps best retained as more familiar and as containing a more striking image of beauty. Ver. 2. Lebanon, Sharon and Carmel are here united as types of the most luxuriant and glorious vegetation. “they shall see’’,Some take this as referring to the house of Israel. (Al. Cle. Sep. Tar. Bred.) Others refer it, and rightly, to the immediate antecedents (V. Na. Del.), declaring that the discourse only comes to the Judeans in the next verse. Alexander says that if the immediate ante- cedents had been meant there would have been no need for the use of the pronoun, and it must have been introduced for the purpose of directing the attention to some other than the nominatives nearest. “This argument is, however, by no means conclusive. Ver. 3. Are they exhorted to do this for others or for themselves? Both thoughts are best included and there is no reason for the exclusion of either. The reference is of course to self-encouragement and the encour- agement of others. Ver. 4. “‘fearful heart’’,—1. e., hasty of heart, the impatient, those who cannot wait for the fulfillment of God’s promises (Al. Cle.) , although it has been variously explained, ‘“‘inconsiderate’ (Ju.), ‘‘precipitate’’ (Coe. )ee) inconstant —‘(Vat.). \ ‘faint-hearted’’~ (Lo.),»“‘palpitating”’ (Ros.), “‘ready to flee’ (Ges.). The rendering of the margin, “Behold, your God! vengeance will come,—even the recompense of God’’, is preferable to that of our text, as most later writers agree. (V. Al. Ju. Na. Coc.) Alexander says, ““‘While Barnes denies that the phrase ‘your God’ refers at all to the Messiah, Calovius alleges that the name of Jesus is expressly mentioned, being included in the verb. “The words are really a promise to God’s people of deliverance, and include, as the most im- portant part of their contents, the unspeakable gift of Christ and His salvation.’ Vers. 5,6. [he words are to be understood more in a spiritual sense than in a corporeal, although it is not impossible that the latter, in a conditional sense, may be included. Perhaps, however, as Alexander says, the simple meaning of the passage is that there shall be such a wonderful change wrought in the condition of mankind, as if the blind were to receive their sight, the dumb to speak, the deaf to hear, the lame to walk, and deserts to be fertilized and blossom like the rose. Ver. 7. “tn the habitation’’,—This is to be connected neither with what precedes, “springs of water in the habitation’, etc. (Al.), nor with what follows, “‘in the habitation, etc., there shall be a highway” (Ew.), both of which constructions allow no promise to be found in the last clause of this verse. Our text is certainly right in seeing here a promise that what was once the haunt of jackals is to become fit for a resting place, 101 ISAIAH a place where grass and reed and cane can grow because of the moisture. or a “‘court for reeds and rushes’, as in the margin. By the “glowing sand” is meant the ‘‘mirage’’ which shall become an actual pool or lake of water. Ver. 8. “‘a highway shall there be’’,—Not a faint track in the desert, but a solid artificial highway. “and a way’’,—This is merely a heniadys, a highway and a way for a highway. “the unclean shall not pass over tt’’,—This means that the people of Jehovah shall be holy. It is not an “‘effusion of national hatred’* (Kn.), nor “‘a trace of later Judaism’’ (Hit.) excluding the heathen generally. “but it shall be for the redeemed (them)’’,—It means merely for _ them for whose sake it was made, the redeemed of course. Hence it is needless to specify, “‘the blind whose eyes are opened’’ (Ju.), “‘Israel’’ (Kim.), “‘the exiles’’ (Hit.), ‘‘those redeemed from idolatry’ (He.), ‘those redeemed by suffering’ (Kn.). “the wayfating man’’,—The traveler. “yea, fools’,—This is explanatory and emphatic. Only moral impurity, but not ignorance nor weakness shall exclude men from this highway. Whoever goes upon it must be sanctified and such an one will be under Jehovah’s protecting care. Ver. 9. Nothing can go on this highway that may in any wise be occasion for alarm or fear. The way is so high that no beast can leap up. Ver. 10. “‘upon their heads’’,—Joy is manifest in the face and countenance. Says Alexander, ‘“‘With respect to the subject of this chapter there has been such diversity of opinion. It has been explained with equal confidence as a description of Judah under Hezekiah (Gro.), of the return from exile (Cle.), of the state of Judah after that event (Ros.), of that state and the times of the New Testament together (Mi.), of the calling of the Gentiles (Coc.), of the Christian dispensation (C. Lut.), of the state of the Church after the fall of Antichrist (V.), of the state of Pales- tine at some future period (Mic.), and of a future state of blessedness (Gill). These arbitrary hypotheses refute each other. ‘The best descrip- tion of the chapter is that given by Augusti in the title to his version of it, where he represents it as the description of a happy condition of the Church after a period of suffering. This is no doubt its true import, and when thus explained it may be considered as including various particulars, none of which may be regarded as its specific or exclusive subject. Gesenius says this prophecy was of course never fulfilled; but so far is this from being true, that it has rather been fulfilled again and again. Without any change of its essential meaning it may be applied to the restoration of the Jews from Babylon, to the vocation of the Gentiles, to the whole Christian dispensation, to the course of every individual believer, and to the blessed- ness of heaven.” Scofield, on the other hand and representing the opposite school of interpretation, says the chapter points to the kingdom blessing and the regathering of Israel. 102 ISAIAH Section Seven. The Conclusion of the Assyrian and the Preparation for the Babylonian Period. CHAPTERS 36 TO 39. CHAPTERS THIRTY-SIX AND THIRTY-SEVEN ‘THE ATTEMPT OF ASSYRIA TO COMPEL THE SURRENDER OF JERUSALEM. Chap. 37.31,32. The king of Assyria had taken all the fenced cities of Judah, but into the city of Jerusalem Jehovah had said to the king of Assyria that he should not come (verse 33), and the remnant here refers to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and those who had fled there for safety. CHAPTERS THIRTY-EIGHT AND THIRTY-NINE HEZEKIAH’S SICKNESS AND RECOVERY AND THE EMBASSY FROM BABY- LON OCCASIONED By IT. THE SECOND PRINCIPAL DIVISION OF THE BOOK The twenty-seven chapters which compose this second division of the writings of Isaiah subdivide into three parts containing each nine chap- ters; Chaps. 40 to 48—49 to 57-58 to 66. Each of these parts in turn contain three addresses. The general theme of this division is the Redemption of Israel be- ginning with the return from Babylonian exile and ending with the cre- ation of a new heaven and a new earth. CHAPTER FORTY This chapter, after a general introduction (verses 1-11) to the entire twenty-seven chapters as well as to the subsequent parts of this chapter itself, contains a presentation of the absolute power and wisdom of God as the objective basis of the redemption in view. CHAPTER FORTY-ONE This chapter both introduces the redeemer from the east (Cyrus) and sets forth the redeemed ‘‘servant of Jehovah’, the people Israel, whom God promises to make strong unto victory, upon which is based an argu- ment for the sole divinity of Jehovah and the nothingness of idols. CHAPTER FORTY-TWO This chapter introduces the Messiah who as the personal representa- tive of a new covenant will mediate for all nations, and then occupies itself with a call to all nations, and especially Israel, to rejoice in promised deliverance. 103 ISAIAH Scofield, Fausset and others see in this chapter, as well as in others, a twofold account of the coming of Christ, His first in mercy to the penitent and His second in judgment on His enemies. Such verses as 13 and 14 they think set forth the judicial aspect of the Gospel which shall be con- summated victoriously only at His second coming. But even though the general truth advanced by these writers be admitted, great caution should be used in drawing it out of passages of doubtful reference. Insofar as the name Jehovah in verse 13, and in Chap. 40.10, as referred to by Scofield, may be referred to Christ there is reasonable ground for the posi- tion taken by these authorities. It is doubtless true, as Delitzsch says of verses 13 and 14, that ‘“The defeat which Jehovah here inflicts on heathen- dom is the final and decisive one. The deliverance of Israel, now nearing its accomplishment, is deliverance both from the punishment of exile and all the misery of sin. The post-exilian and the New Testament period flow into one.” : CHAPTER FORTY-THREE In this chapter the redemption itself is described as one that shall come to pass in spite of all difficulties, even though the heathen must be sacrificed for the sake of it. It is to be all-comprehending, bringing Israel back from out of all lands of the earth. This restoration, which finds its beginning in the return from Babylon, is described in such language as contains without doubt a reference to the more distant Messianic salva- tion, set forth under the usual figures of transformed nature. Under verse 18 Fausset remarks that “‘plainly the still future restora- tion of Israel is the event ultimately meant.” CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR In this chapter a new pledge of deliverance is given and a new exhor- tation to trust in Jehovah is set forth, the wisdom and glory of the latter being set forth in comparison with the wretchedness of impotent idols and their worshippers. CHAP DERS POR MY ELV In this chapter is set forth the deeds of Cyrus as the instrument in the initial ushering in of the salvation promised to Israel, assurance of this - being set forth in the fact that, beside the northern world-power directly ruled by Cyrus, even the southern world-power, Egypt, with the lands of its dominion, shall join itself to the people of Jehovah, as a result of which Israel shall at last and definitely abjure its idols. The ‘‘coming over unto Israel’’ (verse 14) of Egypt, Ethiopia and Sabea Fausset says ‘‘mainly and fully describes the gathering in of ‘the Gentiles unto Israel, especially at Israel’s future restoration.”’ CHAPTER FORTY-SIX In this chapter Israel is exhorted to remember the power of Jehovah and the impotence of idols that are carried by beasts of burden into captivity. 104 ISAIAH CiotebeR FOR Ivy -SEVEN This chapter is occupied wholly with the downfall of Babylon. It exposes the reasons for this judgment which came upon them and sets forth the uselessness of all the means employed to rescue the nation thus sentenced by the decree of Jehovah. CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT In this chapter the prophet points Israel to the fulfillment of the old prophecies in order to move them to faith in the new, after which the chief content of the new prophecy is repeated, promising again the restora- tion of Jehovah’s people and reminding them of the promise. The evident reference to redemption from the bondage of Egypt found in verse 21 leads Fausset to say that the blending of this deliverance with that from Babylon shows that the language cannot be wholly and exclusively referred to either one of them, but that it points mainly to the mystical deliverance of man under the Messiah and ultimately and literally to the final restoration of the now dispersed Israelites. CHAPTER FORT Y-NINE In this chapter is found the self-attestation of the Holy One, Israel's Redeemer, the Messiah, as to His person and work, the latter half of the chapter showing how desolated Israel is to be built anew from the Gentiles. 6 Yea, he saith, It‘is too light a thing for a light to the Gentiles, ‘that thou that thou shouldst be my servant to raise mayest be my salvation unto the end of up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the the earth. preserved of Israel: I will also give thee 10Or, that my salvation may be Ver. 6. “THE RESTORATION OF ISRAEL AND THE CALLING OF THE GENTILES.' Nagelsbach says, ‘The expression, ‘raise up the tribes of Jacob’ says more than one at first sight supposes. For it implies that the nation shall be restored according to its original distribution into twelve tribes.”’ “the preserved of Israel’’,—This, says Fausset, refers to ‘‘the elect remnant according to grace preserved for mercy.” 8 Thus saith Jehovah, In an accept- heights shall be their pasture. 10 They able time have I answered thee, and in shall not hunger nor thirst; neither A shall the *heat nor sun smite them: for a day of-salvation have I helped thee; he that hath mercy on them will lead and [ will preserve thee, and give thee them, even by springs of water will he for a covenant of the people, to ‘raise guide them. 11 And I will make all up the land, to make them inherit the my mountains a way, and my highways desolate heritages; 9 saying to them that shall be exalted. 12 Lo, these shall are bound, Go forth; to them that are come from far; and, lo, these from the in darkness, Show yourselves. ‘They north and from the west; and these shall feed in the ways, and on all bare from the land of Sinim. 1Or, establish the earth "Or, mirage 105 ISAIAH Vers. 8-12. THE PRESERVATION AND RESTORATION OF ISRAEL. Ver. 8. In this verse and the first half of the next the address is made by Jehovah to His Chosen One, the Messiah. “tn an acceptable time... ina day of salvation’’,—Christ Himself by taking Isa. 61.1 as a text explains the time of His appearing as “‘the accept- able year’’, which must be identical with the “acceptable time’’ of our text. But, says Nagelsbach, ‘“The prophetic gaze, however, ‘in the-year of sal- vation’ sees comprehensively all those points of time that belong, by way of preparation and development, to this central point of the redemption of Israel. It begins with the deliverance from Babylonian captivity.and only ends in the completion of salvation in the world beyond.” “to ratse up the land’’,—The country which has fallen into decay rises again and thus the promised land is restored to Israel. “inherit the desolate heritages’’,—'‘The waste heritages’, says Delitzsch, ‘“‘become anew the property of their former owners.” Says Fausset, ‘‘Spiritually, the Gentile world, a moral waste, shall become a garden of the Lord; and literally, Judea, lying waste during Babylonian captivity, shall be possessed again by the Israelites, and Jesus, the anti-type of and bearing the same name as Joshua, will divide the land among its true heirs. Ver. 9. In the second half of this verse the prophecy depicts the return of the redeemed. Says Rosenmuller, ‘Israel on its way back to the Holy Land shall not have to turn aside to devious paths in search of neces- saries, but shall find them in all places wherever their route lies.”’ Vers. 10,11. Jehovah will abundantly supply all the wants of Israel on their way to the Holy Land, as He will those of spiritual Israel on their way to heaven, making all the mountains a way for the returning ones, and raising the paths of the desert, as it were, into artificially formed highways. : By Sinim in verse 12 is no doubt meant China. 17 Thy children make haste; thy de- and fro? and who hath brought up stroyers and they that made thee waste these? Behold, I was left alone; these, shall go forth from thee. 18 Lift up where were they? thine eyes round about, and behold: all 22 Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Be- these gather themselves together, and hold, I will lift up my hand to the na- come to thee. As I live, saith Jehovah, tions, and: set up my ensign to the peo- | thou shalt surely clothe thee with them ples; and they shall bring thy sons in all as with an ornament, and gird thy- their bosom, and thy daughters shall be self with them, like a bride. 19 For, carried upon their shoulders. 23 And as for thy waste and thy desolate places, kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and and thy land that hath been destroyed, their queens thy nursing mothers: they surely now shalt thou be too strait for shall bow down to thee with their faces the inhabitants, and they that swallowed to the earth, and lick the dust of thy thee up shall be far away. 20 The chil- feet; and thou shalt know that I’ am dren of thy bereavement shall yet say in Jehovah; and they that wait for me thine ears, The place is too strait for shall not be put to shame. me; give place to me that I may dwell. 24 Shall the prey be taken from the 21 Then shalt thou say in thy heart, mighty, or “the lawful captives be de- Who hath *begotten me these, seeing I livered? 25 But thus saith Jehovah, have been bereaved of my children, and Even the captives of the mighty shall be am “solitary, an exile, and wandering to taken away, and the prey.of the terrible od yarne 3Heb. the captives of the just “Or, darren 106 ISAIAH shall be delivered; for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and [ will save thy children. 26 And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with sweet wine: and all flesh shall know that I, Jehovah, am thy God. Vers. 17-26. DESOLATE ISRAEL BUILT AFRESH FROM THE GENTILES. Ver. 17. Zion’s children come again to build her fallen walls and those who made a desolate ruin of the holy city and land must depart from her midst. “Thy children make haste’’,—The reference here, says Fausset, is to “Zion's literal children, who come on in haste to build up again the ruins and the waste places; to this the context refers especially, and only second- arily to her spiritual children by conversion to Christ.”’ Ver. 20. “The children of thy bereavement’’,—Here again Fausset says that the context shows that her literal children are literally meant. Morgan thinks that by this expression the lost ten tribes are meant, as do also many other writers. ‘‘Only secondarily’’, says Fausset, ‘‘is the acces- sion of spiritual Israel from the Gentiles meant.”’ Nagelsbach thinks these countless children are those converted to Jehovah from the Gentiles and that the reference is not to the returning Israelites. He contends that if they had been her own children or her children’s children she would have recognized them as the children of her own body, and that they are therefore spiritual children of Israel. Delitzsch and most interpreters agree with Fausset in seeing in this the secondary reference of the passage only. Ver. 22. “Thy sons’’, says Fausset, ‘‘must be distinct from the Gen- tiles who carry them. The Gentiles shall aid in restoring Israel to her own land (Chap. 60.4.and 66.20), and this verse cannot therefore refer pri- marily to securing converts from among the Gentiles, but must the rather refer to the literal restoration of Israel.’’ Campbell Morgan, who contends for the literal restoration of Israel, believes this fact set forth in the verses before us, and he says, “‘While I am not able positively to deny that we, as a nation, are identical with the lost ten tribes, I am by no means satisfied of it; but I have no quarrel with those who hold that view. At all events God knows where they are; and back to the old land for which He has declared His love, shall come the scattered earthly people—not the two tribes, not Judah alone, but all the Israel of God.” Ver. 23. Instead of the nations, as in the previous verse, we now have their kings and queens who became her protectors and further her growth, which thing became true down through the ages, attended some- times with good consequences and sometimes with evil. Ver. 24. “Shall the prey be taken from the mighty’’,—Israel has long been a prey to mighty Gentile nations, ‘‘whose oppression of her’, says Fausset, ‘‘shall reach its highest point under Antichrist.” “the lawful captives be delivered’’,The rendering of our text seems to refer to the Jews as justly consigned because of their sins as captives to the foe. (F.) The word is literally “‘just’’ or “righteous.” Hendewerk thinks the reference is to the Jews carried off as captives 107 ISAIAH by the righteous Chaldeans, but this cannot be said of the Chaldeans even as accomplishing the judgment of Jehovah upon the wayward nation. This thought might be gathered from the marginal reading, “‘the captives of the just”, but it certainly cannot be the thought of the passage. The idea of “‘just’’ and “‘righteous’’ must be applied to the Israelites. Israel, ready to return home, is said to be righteous however sinful may have been those who were led away into captivity. _ The best translation we believe is, “the captive righteous ones be delivered’. ‘\he rendering of our text gives a very proper idea, as Fausset says, but it is hardly in keeping with the original. In a secondary sense Satan may be said to be the mighty one, the conqueror of man, upon whom his own sin gives to Satan a lawful claim, which claim is answered by Christ, by reason of which the guilty man goes free. In verses 25 and 26 is found the answer of Jehovah to the question just propounded. CGHAPTERSEFIBAGY This chapter shows that the judgment upon Israel was provoked by her own iniquity, but that she was not to\be altogether and finally cast off by God. In the first part is shown that their not receiving the Lord when He came to His possession was the cause of their temporary rejection; then in the second is set forth the suffering of the Messiah which He declares Himself willing to undertake; while in the last part of the chapter 1 is shown the possibility of Israel’s acceptance once again. CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE This chapter is taken up with the promised redemption of Israel, the argument being that the God who has so blessed one individual (verse 2) as to make him a mighty nation, can also 1 increase and bless the small remnant of Israel, both that, as Fausset says, ‘‘left in the Babylonian cap- tivity and that left in the present and latter days, the residue. (Chap. 13.8,9.)”’ In such verses as 11 and 14 many interpreters see the usual two- fold reference of a literal release from the then existing Babylon and anti- typically from the mystical Babylon, the last enemy of Israel and the Church, while of course still others, in keeping with their school of inter- pretation, spiritualize the meaning into the gathering of the Gentiles, the heathen of the present dispensation, into the Church, the spiritual Israel. As to verses 17 and 18, Fausset says these cannot apply to the Baby- lonish captivity, because in that they had some one ‘“‘to guide her’’; ‘they had Ezekiel and Daniel and Ezra and Nehemiah, and they soon awoke out of that sleep. The words apply, he says, to the Jews now, and will be still more applicable to them in their coming oppression by the Antichrist. But the premise of this writer’s statement hardly warrants his conclusion, though his conclusion in itself may be a sound one. The thought of the passage is that Jerusalem was utterly devoid of any help on the part of her children; the suffering weighed so heavily on all the members of the exiled 108 ISAIAH people, that, as Delitzsch says, ‘‘no one felt the joy and strength needful to rise up for her and to lay hold of her hand to guide her or to stay her up.’ Even the prophet is constrained, humanly speaking, to confess, ‘How shall I comfort thee?”’ CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO This chapter treats of the restoration of Jerusalem to glory. The first states that Jehovah must do this for the sake of the honor of His name, while the second part describes the accomplishment of the restoration. SGHAP TER’ FIF-TY-THREE This chapter portrays the humiliation and suffering of the Man of Sorrows, the prophecy regarding whose future no man believed. The first part, with which the last three verses of the preceding chapter should be connected, as presenting the theme of the prophecy, sets forth the lowli- ness of this Man as the Lamb that bears the sin of the people, while the last part of the chapter treats of His exaltation to glory. CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR In this chapter are set forth the fruit of the Messiah’s sufferings in the joyful salvation of Jehovah’s people. In the first ten verses is por- trayed the wondrous enlargement of Zion by the incorporation of the Gentile world, while in the remaining part the prophet describes the secur- ity and blessing of the restored nation. CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE In this chapter the universal invitation to the Gentiles is given. “The first part of the chapter designates believing acceptance of the word as the way of appropriating this new salvation, while the latter part speaks of the obstacles and scruples that must be set aside that the rich blessing offered may not be frustrated. CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX This chapter devotes itself to describing the preparation needed on the part of those who wish to partake of this new salvation. It consists both of a series of ethical instructions and of consolatory words for the eunuchs and the converts from the heathen to Israel and to Israel’s God. Verses 6 and 7 says Campbell Morgan await complete and very literal ful- fillment in the age to come, the Millennium. age. CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN The prophet here returns to the time previous to the beginning of redemption, that is, to the time previous to the end of the exile. In the last verses of the preceding chapter he describes the mournful situation 109 ISAIAH obtaining among the leaders of Israel, the watchmen and the shepherds, as well as among the people who lived during the exile, but in this chapter beginning with verse 15 he concludes that the believing remnant will be - graciously cared for in spite of the conditions of the unpromising present which his eyes were forced to behold. In verse 13 Fausset sees another promise of the literal restoration of Israel in coming days to the holy land. CHAP FERSBIE LY -EIGH | The prophet now shows them how by a sincere repentance they must raise themselves out of the sphere of the flesh into that of the spirit, and contrasts the false worship with the true, setting forth the promises con- nected with the latter. CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE In this chapter the sins which hinder the’ accomplishment of redemp- tion are still more directly laid bare. The people make their penitential confession by reason of which comes the consequent promise of the Messiah. 19 So shall they fear the name of Jeho- vah from the west, and his glory from 15 And Jehovah saw it, and it dis- pleased him that there was no justice. Vers, 15-21. 16 And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was *no inter- cessor; therefore his own arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteous- ness, it upheld him. 17 And he put on righteousness as a “breastplate, and “a helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a mantle. 18 According to their ‘deeds, accordingly he will repay, wrath to his adversaries, recompense to his enemies; to the “islands he will repay recompense. 1Or, none to interpose. “Or, coat of mail 3Or, salvation for a helmet Heb, recompenses Or, coast-lands the rising of the sun; “for he will come as ‘a rushing stream, which the breath of Jehovah driveth. 20 And a Redeem- er will come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith Jebovah. 21 And as for me, this is my covenant with them, saith Jeho- vah: my Spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed’s seed, saith Jehovah, from henceforth and for ever. ®Or, when the adversary shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of Jehovah will lift up a standard against him THeb. @ stream pent in ‘THE PROMISE OF JEHOVAH’S INTERVENTION AND THE REDEEMER OUT OF ZION. Netra Lb. describe the judgment at hand. The prophet has now reached the point where he has to” Jehovah investigates the situation and owns with displeasure that justice and equity has disappeared from the life of His people. Ver. 16. “And he saw that there was no man’’,—i. e., no one able to restrain, to remedy this corrupt condition; no man, says Fausset, ‘‘to atone by his righteousness for the unrighteousness of the people; no repre- sentative man able to retrieve the cause of fallen men.’ 110 ISAIAH “no intercessor’’,—1i. e., no one to intervene, as intercessor, between God and the people, this expression corresponding largely in parallel to the one just before it, the former having a meaning analogous to and pre- paratory for the latter. Understanding clearly then what was needed Jehovah proceeds to actual intervention, “his arm’’, a symbol of His omnipotence, affording Him help, and “His righteousness’ and the righteousness of His cause sustaining Him in His purpose. Ver. 17. ‘The armour put on by the avenging Jehovah is now de- scribed under figures borrowed from the usages of war. It is useless to conjecture as to the exact application of each particular part of the uniform. Righteousness, says Clericus, might just as well have been a sword, salva- ~ tion a shield, vengeance a javelin or spear and zeal a torch with which to fire the hostile camp. The first piece of armour is better understood as the habergeon or coat-of-mail from which all darts of the enemy rebound, while the helmet of salvation stands as a guarantee of the ultimate object for which He enters into the conflict, i. e., the deliverance and redemption of His people. His vengeance is compared to the bright-colored military coat mera over the coat-of-mail, and His zeal to the fiery red military mantle. Ver. 18. “‘to the islands’’,—1i. e., representatives of the heathen world. In this sentence, says Delitzsch, the prophet seems to conceal the special judgment upon Israel under the universal judgment upon all nations. “This verse’, says Fausset, ‘‘predicts the judgments at the Lord’s second coming which shall precede the final redemption of His people iMehape00wo) LO). Ver. 19. Asa result of this judgment,.from all quarters of the earth, fear of Jehovah’s name and of His glory becomes natural to the world of nations. The last clause of this verse has been the subject of great con- troversy, commentators differing more or less as to the meaning of every word, as well as to the meaning of the clause as a whole. ‘There are two, among the many interpretations, that deserve especial attention: (1) “for he (Jehovah) shall come as a rushing river, which a strong wind (Jehovah's own breath or Spirit) driveth along.”’ (Lo. Na. Ew. Lut. Ges. Del.) This is now the almost prevailing view, but in addition to a number of grammatical questions which it raises, it seems incongruous to liken Jehovah to a river which His own breath drives along, and the image of a stream rendered rapid by the wind is most unnatural. (2) “‘when he (the enemy) will come as a rushing stream the Spirit of Jehovah shall lift up a standard against him.’’ ‘This is the version of the English and the Dutch Bibles. (V.F.He.) This rendering is entirely defensible and it is difficult to see where that of our text has made any improvement over it. It does have this objection to it, namely, that the context does not lead us to expect an allusion to the enemy coming against God but just the reverse; however, this is not a serious objection. Cocceius has given us a somewhat ingenious interpretation, which Alexander has adopted, in the rendering, “when He (Jehovah) approaches as their enemy,’ it will be like an overflowing stream, in which his spirit (Jehovah's) lifts up the banner of victory’. 111 ISAIAH Ver, 20. There is of course no logical distinction between “Zion” and “‘them that turn from transgression in Jacob’, the apparent distinction being merely a rhetorical one. Says Delitzsch, who reads “‘for Zion’’, “Tn Rom. 11.26 this utterance of God is cited by the apostle as a Scripture proof for the future restoration of all Israel.”’ Fausset says, ‘‘Paul applies this verse to the coming restoration of Israel spiritually.” “will come to Zion’’,—This is the reading of both the English and the Revised versions, but the particle can hardly be said to denote motion or direction, although it is sometimes used in this sense. It properly denotes, as Alexander says, relation in the widest sense and is commonly equivalent to “‘as to’ or “with respect to’’ and the expression therefore seems to indicate that the Redeemer’s coming has respect to Zion. The Septuagint version renders it “for the sake of Zion’. Paul in quoting this verse makes it say “‘out of Zion’’, supplementing the sense by inspiration from Psa. 14.7. He was and is come to Zion first with redemption, being sprung as a man out of Zion. Alexander says, ‘‘Even Paul’s ttanslation, ‘out of Zion’, although it seems to completely reverse the sense, is not so wholly inconsistent with it as some have maintained; for though the Hebrew word does not mean ‘from’, it does mean that which may include ‘from Zion’ in its scope, because it might be by going out of Israel that He was to act as her deliverer, and the apostle might intend by his translation to suggest the idea that Zion's Redeemer was to be also the Redeemer of the Gentiles.”’ Scofield says, ‘“The time when the Redeemer shall come to Zion is fixed relatively by Rom. 11.23-29 as following the completion of the Gentile Church. That is also the order of the great dispensational pas- sage. (Acts 15.14-17.) In both, the return of the Lord to Zion elites the outcalling of the Church.” CHAP TERS LX lay The following quotations set forth the method of approach to a passage of this kind by the two prevailing schools of interpretation. Alexander says, ‘“The chapter refers to spiritual Israel, the Church; though Israel’s national pre-eminence was to be discontinued because of her sins the true spiritual Israel was to be ushered into a new and far more glorious experience which the prophet describes as a light rising upon her.”’ Fausset says, ““This chapter is an ode to Zion upon her restoration at the second coming to her true position as mother of the Church from which the Gospel is to be diffused to the whole Gentile world. The first promulgation of the Gospel to the Gentiles beginning at Jerusalem was but an earnest of this.”’ 1 Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. and the glory of Jehovah is risen upon 3 And nations shall come to thy light, thee. 2 For, behold, darkness shall cover and kings to the brightness of thy ris- the earth, and gross darkness the peo- ing. ples; but Jehovah will arise upon thee, 4 Lift up thine eyes round about, and 112 ISAIAH see: they all gather themselves together, they come to thee; thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be ‘carried in the arms. 5 Then thou shalt see and be radiant, and thy heart shall thrill and be enlarged; because the abun- dance of the sea shall be turned unto thee, the wealth of the nations shall come unto thee. 6 The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the *"dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come; they shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall *proclaim *Heb. nursed upon the side. - "Or, young camels 3Heb. bring good tidings of the praises the praises of Jehovah. 7 All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee; they shall come up with ac- ceptance on mine altar; and I will *slorify ‘the house of my glory. 8 Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows? 9 Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, for the name of Jehovah thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel, because he hath ‘glorified thee. 4Or, beautify 5Or, my beautiful house 6Or, deautified Vers. 1-9. Ver. 1. “‘Arise’’,—1. e., from the dust where thou hast been sitting as a mourning female captive. “shine’’,—Gesenius translates with the margin, “be enlightened’, but our text is better, the literal of which is ‘‘be light’. She is to shine and so give spiritual light to others, but she is not to shine in her own light, but to let herself be enlightened, as the next clause shows. “the glory of Jehovah’’,—This is a description of the kind of light that has come. It is the glory of the Lord in person, although there is doubtless an allusion to the Shekinah and the cloudy pillar such as rested above the Ark. The words of this verse are not those of a prophetic chorus (V.), but of Isaiah speaking in the name of Jehovah. Ver. 2. It is not that Zion shall be glorious because of the exclusive light she enjoys while other nations are sitting in gross darkness, but because the light which has shone upon her shall be “‘seen’’ (seen conspicu- ously, as the Hebrew word expresses it) by these nations and draw them to her. Ver. 3. “thy rising’,—Literally “thy sun rising’, meaning the brightness that has arisen upon her. Ver. 4. “they... they’’,—Delitzsch makes these pronouns refer to the “‘sons’’ and “‘daughters’’ who bring the Gentiles with them, but it seems almost necessary to refer these pronouns to the “‘nations’’ of the previous verse, while the sons and the daughters are doubtless the Jews brought back or attended by the Gentiles who come to worship Jehovah. “carried in the arms’’,—The Hebrew is “nursed upon the side’, i. e., carried, with an allusion to the oriental custom of carrying the child on the side astride the hip. Alexander of course says this has reference only to the enlargement of the Church and has nothing to do with a return to Palestine after cap- tivity or a future restoration of Israel. Others maintain that all three thoughts are contained in the expression. (F. Na. He. Lo. Del.) Ver. 5. “‘see’’,-About sixty manuscripts read “‘fear’’ (V. Um. Lo. Do. Jus. Ges. Mic.), meaning the painful sensation which often attends E113 THE GATHERING OF THE NATIONS TO JERUSALEM. ISAIAH joy, and which is expressed in the next clause. Vitringa says “‘see’’ is a vain repetition of the preceding verse, while Knobel says to express “‘fear’’ twice in this verse is inexcusable tautology. The words in Hebrew are very alike, just a slight difference in the pointing. On the whole, “‘see’’ is to be preferred. (F. Na. Ew. He. Kn. Ma. Hit. Cle. Ros. Lut. Kim. Jer. Tar. Syr. Sept.) The idea then is the seeing of the bringing back of her sons and daughters. “be radiant’’,—The word means ‘“‘to brighten up” (for joy) as in Psass3 456, “thy heart shall thrill’’,—1i. e., tremble, because of the overpowering impression made by this complete change. (F. Al. Na. Ho. Del.) Hen- derson thinks it was because she had apprehension that she would not have room enough for all who were coming. “and be enlarged’’,—i. e., dilate, swell, throb with joy. “abundance of the sea’’,—i. e., the wealth, the costly things belonging to the islands and coast-lands. The Gentiles are to devote themselves and their possessions to the service of Jehovah. Ver. 6. So many of the merchandise-bearing animals, the ships of the desert, shall come that they will “cover’’ her, i. e. the country will swarm with them. Ver. 7. By a bold figure the rams are represented as offering them- selves acceptably. [he word rendered “with acceptance’’ signifies rather “‘with pleasure, delight” or “good-will” (V. F. He. Hit. Del.), “‘it being a general notion’’, says Lowth, “‘that prevailed with sacrificers among the heathen that the victims being brought without reluctance to the altar was a good omen; and the contrary a bad one.’ “the house of my glory’’,—The temple was built for His glory, and now He will make its internal glory like its external glory by adorning it with the gifts brought in homage by the world of converted Gentiles. Fausset says of the house of Jehovah's glory, ‘‘See the temple of Ezek. 41.”" Delitzsch says, ‘“None of the prophets of the Old Testament is able to think of the worship of Jehovah by the Israel of the latter days without the offering of sacrifices; but it would be a return to the limited conceptions of the Old Testament if one were to conclude that animal sacrifice will ever be restored. ‘The dividing-wall of national particularism and ceremonial observances forming shadows of things to come will never be re-established; and with the cessation of sacrificial worship since the fiery judgment fell upon the second temple, there has forever passed away the restriction of worship to any one central spot on earth (John 4.21).” Says Donald Moore, “The picture drawn in this section perplexes those who understand it of the literal restoration of the Jews and of the future glory of the earthly Jerusalem. Hess, Baumgarten and others argue from verse 7 for the restoration of animal sacrifices. But Delitzsch justly rejects this notion as being utterly inconsistent with and contrary to the Christian system. But if the victims and the altar here spoken of are not to be taken literally, why should we look for a material temple or construe literally the other traits of the picture? “The whole description represents not the material Jerusalem, but the Church of God under images, which, to be consistently interpreted, cannot be taken in a gross, literal sense.”’ 114 ISAIAH Says Alexander, ‘‘Grotius supposes this prediction to have been liter- ally verified in Herod’s temple. Gesenius and other Germans easily dispose of it as a fanatical anticipation. It is much more embarrassing to those who make the passage a prediction of the future restoration of the Jews and the future splendor of the literal Jerusalem. Some of the most intrepid writers of this class consistently apply their fundamental principle of literal interpretation and believe that the Mosaic ritual or something like it is to be restored. But such interpreters as J. D. Michaelis and Hender- son, who cannot go this length, are obliged to own that spiritual services are here represented under forms and titles borrowed from the old dispen- sation.” _. Ver. 8. Said perhaps, says Vitringa, with reference to the ships sailing in from the sea in cloud-like form with spread sails. Ver. 9. “‘the isles shall wait for me’’,—This is meant to be under- stood in the same way as in Chap. 51.5, and like the “‘expectant waiting” of the isles in Chap. 42.4, the word containing a firm expectation of some- thing to be experienced. “their’’,—This is by some referred to “‘isles’’ (F. Del.) , but we prefer with our text, to connect it with “‘sons’’ as the nearer and more natural antecedent. (AI. Na.) “the ships of Tarshish first’’,—The ships that trade to the most dis- tant region shall be among the very foremost to bring back the sons of Israel. 10 And foreigners shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister un- to thee: for in my wrath I smote thee, but in my favor have I had mercy on thee. 11 Thy gates also shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto thee the wealth of the nations, and their kings led captive. 12 For that nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted. 13 The glory of Leba- non shall come unto thee, the fir-tree, the pine, and the box-tree together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and ous. 14 And the sons of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee; and all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet; and they shall call thee The city of Jehovah, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel. 15 Whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated, so that no man_ passed through thee, I will make thee an eter- nal excellency, a joy of many genera- tions. 16 Thou shalt also suck the milk of the nations, and shalt suck the breast of kings; and thou shalt know that I, Jehovah, am thy Saviour, and thy Re- I will make the place of my feet glori- deemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. Vers. 10-16. Ver. 10. Delitzsch says on the first half of this verse, ‘“The walls of Zion rise out of their ruins—foreigners, quite overcome through the inter- position of Jehovah, rendering personal service in the work, while foreign kings are ready to help Zion; of this assistance the arrangements made through the decrees of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes Longimanus were but a prelude to what continued pointing to the latter days, though, in the view of the prophet, the time after the exile 1s itself the time of the end.” Ver. 11. “kings led captive’’,—Not so much “‘pompously attended”’ (Lo.), nor “‘escorted’’ (V. Ros. Kim. Ges.), but the word means “‘con- ducted’, i. e., “led as captive’, not, however, in the sense that their own 115 THE RESTORATION OF JERUSALEM TO GLORY. ISAIAH people disgusted with their rule deliver them up (Hit.), but as Delitzsch says, ‘‘led by the Church which irresistibly enchains them, i. e., conquers their hearts so that they let themselves be brought as God’s captives in triumphal procession to the Holy City.” Ver. 12. A reason primarily for the promise of increase to Jehovah's people and secondarily for the Gentile kings submitting themselves to them in service. Donald Moore says, ““They who consider the literal Jerusalem to be the subject of this prophecy, and not the Church of God, may well ask themselves if literal destruction will really be the punishment of every nation and kingdom that will not serve the Jews. But it is not they that are born of the flesh who are the heirs of this promise, but they who are Christ’s, and so the true seed of Abraham, the Israel of God. The Gen- tile Christians are not doomed to bondage.” Ver. 13. “The glory of Lebanon’’,—1. e., of her trees, her cedars and her luxuriant vegetation. \ “to beautify the place of my sanctuary’’,—Many think the adorn- ment is that of the buildings by the choicest kinds of timber, but others take it quite properly as the adornment of the grounds by living trees, this being more in keeping with the poetical tone of the context and more pleasing in itself. (Na. Al. Kn. Ew. Hit. Del.) The place of His sanc- tuary is of course Jerusalem. “T will make the place of my feet glortous’’,—i. e., the place where I habitually stand and walk (Ma.), the place where He dwells in the midst of His people forever. Says Nagelsbach, ‘“Though He has no temple of stone there, He has still the place of His glorious presence, the place where His feet rest.’’ But, says Donald Moore, “If notwithstanding the words of Isaiah about the temple and the sacrifices (Chap. 2.2,3 and verse 7 of this chapter), we are justified in holding, as Nagelsbach does, that there will be in the Holy City of God no external temple and no animal sacrifices, may we not go further and seek a spiritual sense for the description of the future outward glory of Jerusalem contained in this chapter?”’ Ver. 16. This is not enrichment by plunder (Hit.), as of a vampire sucking a child, but a statement that Zion shall draw unto herself and enjoy all that is valuable of the possessions of the Gentiles. 17 For brass J will bring gold, and thee an everlasting light, and thy God for iron I will bring silver,and for wood he glory. rs ey ek shall no en ‘ , go down. neither shall thy moon with- brass, and for stones iron. I will also draw itself; for Jehovah will be thine make thy officers peace, and “thine exac- everlasting light, and the days of thy tors righteousness. 18 Violence shall mourning shall be ended. 21 Thy ped- no more be heard in thy land, desola- ple also shall be all righteous; they shall tion nor destruction within thy borders; inherit the land for ever, the branch of but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, my planting, the work of my hands, and thy gates Praise. 19 The sun shall that I may be glorified. 22 The little be no more thy light by day; neither one shall become a thousand, and the for brightness shall the moon give light small one a strong nation: I, Jehovah unto thee: but Jehovah will be unto will hasten it in its time. . 10r, thy taskmasters "Or, beauty 116 a ISAIAH Vers. 17-22. THE NEW LIFE OF JERUSALEM TO BE ENJOYED BY THE RESTORED. Ver. 17. Some take the words “‘peace’’ and “righteousness’’ as predi- cates (F.), meaning that all her rulers shall be, as it were, peace and right- eousness itself, but the majority (S. Na. Um. Del. Ges.) take it in the sense that peace and righteousness shall rule. ‘This is preferable. “The rulers may be peaceful and righteous but the city may be still disturbed by unrighteousness, but when the government itself is peace and righteous- ness then all will be well. The word “‘exactors’’, i. e., of tribute, is not to be taken in an evil sense. Ver. 18. “thou shalt call thy walls Salvation and thy gates Pratse’’, —Delitzsch has put it well, ‘She has walls but in reality ‘Salvation’, the salvation of her God is to her an impregnable fortification: she has gates, but in reality all gates are rendered needless by her praise, the fame that brings fear and reverence, with which Jehovah has invested her.”’ Ver. 19. Among the various comments on the meaning of this verse the following are worthy of notice; Alexander,—‘‘All natural sources of illumination shall be swallowed up in the clear manifestation of the presence, power and will of God.”’ Henderson,—‘‘The superlative degree of happiness which shall be enjoyed by the new and holy Jerusalem church, expressed in language of the most sublime imagery.” Others make it a figurative promise of prosperity of which light is the natural and common emblem, while still others make it God's residence among His people clothed in such transcendent brightness as to make the light of the sun and the moon useless. Ver. 20. “the days of thy mourning shall be ended’’,—There shall be no national spiritual obscuration as in other days. Ver. 21. “the land’’,—Although the majority so translate (F. Na. Del.) as a more literal and exact rendering, it must not be overlooked that Scripture has attached to this prophetic formula a much higher meaning, namely, the earth, the possession of the land being just such a type or symbol of the broader, higher meaning. Ver. 22. This verse on its face is simply a description of increase. Vitringa and Alexander apply it to Israel itself. Gesenius and Delitzsch say it means one without a family or a small family. Nagelsbach refers it to the physically most insignificant, while Kimchi and Rosenmuller apply it to number and not to size. EE 2 CII it’’,—The reference is to this particular prophecy from verse 1 on (Del.), and not to the whole preceding series of prophecies. (Kn. Al.) “in its time’’,—1i. e., the time which Jehovah hath appointed. The word is not “‘hAis’’, as in the Authorized version, but “‘rts’’, and so does not refer to Jehovah, but modifies grammatically “‘time’’, although the meaning is as already shown one and the same thing. gly, Verse a -01) ISAIAH CHAPTER SIXT Y-ONE 1 The Spirit of the Lord Jehovah is upon me; because Jehovah hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the *meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and “the opening of the ptison to them that are bound; 2 to proclaim the year of Jehovah’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; 3 to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion to give unto them a garland for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteous- ness, the planting of Jehovah, that he may be glorified. 4 And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desola- tions, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many genera- tions. 5 And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and foreigners shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers. 6 But ye shall be named the priests of Jehovah; men shall call you ministers of our God; ye shall eat the wealth of the nations, and “in their glory shall ye Or, pcor “Or, opening of the eyes 8Or, to their glory shall ye succeed OF JEHOVAH. boast yourselves. 7 Instead of your shame ye shall have double; and instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess double; everlasting joy shall be unto them. 8 For I, Jehovah, love justice, I hate robbery “with iniquity; and | will give them their recompense in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. 9 And their seed shall be known among the nations, and their offspring among the peoples; all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which Jehovah hath blessed. 10 I will greatly rejoice in Jehovah, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom *decketh himself with a garland, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels. 11 For as the earth bringeth forth its bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord Jehovah will cause righteous- ness and praise to spring forth before all the nations. 4Or, for (or, with) a burnt-offering "Heb. decketh himself as a priest THE GLORY OF THE OFFICE OF MESSIAH, THE SERVANT The speaker in this chapter is the Messiah, the Servant of Jehovah. CRaMie Nat Orr Aln Drie Del Ghe?) The Lord’s use of this passage in His own time does not necessarily prove Him to be the speaker here (V.). There are, however, two parallel passages (Chap. 42.1-7 and 49.1-9) and all agree that the same speaker is here brought forward, and if therefore it is conceded that in these two passages just mentioned the speaker is the Messiah it is difficult to avoid the same conclusion in the passage before us. Gesenius, Umbreit and - most modern expositors make the speaker to be the prophet himself, but this cannot only be allowed in a subordinate sense. Ver. 1. “‘to proclaim liberty to the captives’’,—Said with manifest reference to the year of Jubilee (Lev. 25.10; Jer. 34.8,9), a year of general release from debts and obligations of all bondmen and bondwomen. ‘Ihe language may also be drawn from the deliverance of the Babylonish cap- tivity. It is a figurative description, of course, of the deliverance from sin and death. “opening of the prison’’,—The Hebrew is rather “the most complete opening’. The word is nowhere used of the opening of a room, but always of the opening of the eyes and because of the rest of: the sentence we are here led to think of the eyes being opened as in contrast to the 118 ISAIAH gloomy darkness of the prison. It is a figurative expression, of course, prison being represented poetically as a state of darkness and deliverance from it as a restoration to light, just as proclaiming liberty refers to the deliverance from the bondage of sin. Ver. 2. “the year of Jehovah’s favor’’,—The word “‘year’’ is used as a poetical equivalent to ‘‘day’’ and was suggested perhaps by the previous reference to the year of Jubilee. A year is assigned to grace but a day to vengeance. ‘‘Wrath is short, but grace is long.”’ Scofield says, “‘Observe that Jesus suspended the reading of this passage in the synagogue at the comma in the middle of the verse. “The first advent, therefore, opened the day of grace, ‘the acceptable year of Jehovah’, but does not fulfill the day of vengeance. ‘That will be taken up when Messiah returns. “The vengeance precedes the regathering of Israel, and synchronizes with the day of the Lord.”’ “them that mourn’’,—The main reference is to Zion’s mourners who are deeply affected by the desolations that have come to their city. Ver. 3. “‘a garland for ashes’’,—i. e., a crown, a tiara, worn in times of joy instead of a head-dress of ashes cast on the head in mourning. “oil of joy’’,—Perfumed oil was poured on the heads of guests at joyous occasions. “gatment of praise’’,—i. e., bright-colored garments indicative of thankfulness. “trecs of righteousness’’,—Terebinth trees, symbolic of men strong in righteousness instead of being bowed down as a reed with sin and calamity. Ver. 4. “build the old wastes’’,—Delitzsch says these are not to be confined merely to what was lying waste during the exile, but that now the country is to be so densely populated that the former dwelling places will not be sufficient; hence what is meant are localities lying waste and situated beyond the limits of the Holy Land until now. Henderson says, ‘“This verse admits of no consistent interpretation except on the principle that the Jews are to be returned again to the land of their fathers; the desolations are those of cities that had once been inhabited and cannot without the utmost violence be applied to the heathen world.” Ver. 5. “And strangers shall stand’’,—They shall stand, i. e., at their post, ready to offer their service. Ver. 6. Your exclusive business will be the service of God, while others attend to your flocks and fields. (F. Na. Aba.) “The Jews appear here as the priestly nobility and the Gentiles as those having to perform the hard work. But says the translator of Nagels- bach, ‘“The conversion of Israel, instead of reducing the Gentiles to the position of menials, will conduce exceedingly to their riches, Rom. 11.12. The prophet is speaking here not of Israel after the flesh, but of the Israel of God, and does not here contradict what he elsewhere says about the equal privileges of converted Gentiles. (Chap. 19.24,25; 66.21.) Even in connection with the new heavens and the new earth our prophet speaks of the people, the inhabitants of Jerusalem themselves planting vineyards 119 ISAIAH and eating their fruit (Chap. 65.17-23) and so not confining themselves to the exercise of priestly functions. Literally understood, these places are mutually exclusive and contradictory. They must be taken figura- tively.”’ “and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves’’,Some have thought that the idea is that of the dispossession of the Gentiles by the Jews of their wealth. But this does not necessarily inhere in the language even though the reading of our text be approved. The word rendered “‘boast’’ really means “‘to push upward’, to raise one’s self up proudly (Del. Tar. Sep.), and may be taken as meaning that they shall become sharers i in the glory and weaith of the Gentiles who have turned unto Jehovah. Others again make the literal translation of the word to mean, ‘‘ye shall substitute yourselves,’ i. e., in their place. Alexander has said that all the latest writers, not excepting Gesenius, have gone back to Jarchi’s explanation of the words as denoting “mutual exchange or substitution’”’, thus making this verse and the previous one describe not exaltation on. the part of the Jews and subjection on the part of the Gentile converts, but mutual exchange and intimate association. He says that context, etymol- ogy, and usage all favor this view, and consequently the true idea is that while the Jews shall be priests the Gentiles shall be their purveyors, the Jews supplying the spiritual wants of the Gentiles and the latter supplying the temporal wants of the Jews. (See Rom. 15.27.) Ver. 7. “Instead of your shame ye shall have double’’,—Double as much reward as your past share. (F. Al. Tar. Ges. Jar.) Twice as much reward as before they had shame. (He. Na.) Double possession in the land, which has been enlarged beyond the bounds of former occupation, as seen by the last half of the verse. (Del.) The first explanation is much to be preferred. “in their land they shall possess double’’,—Nagelsbach thinks the reference is not to an enlarged land and an enlarged inheritance of the indi- vidual in it, but that there is added to their own honor and their own possessions the wealth and possessions of the Gentiles. Fausset says the expression marks the reference as being to literal Israel and not to the Church at large. Ver. 8. “I, Jehovah, love justice’’,—1. e., the justice which requires of me that I should restore my people and give them double in compensa- tion for their former shame and suffering. “T hate robbery with tniquity’’,—There seems to be a little redund- ancy here, as Jerome says, all robbery being iniquitous; but there are a mul- titude of places where such redundancy of expression occurs. The refer- - ence is to such robbery as was perpetrated on Israel. Delitzsch thinks it refers to the injustice formerly rampant in Israel, but his reasons are hardly sufficient. Ver. 9. “Rnown’’,—1i. e., known honorably. Alexander here maintains that the Jews are represented as scattered among the Gentile nations instead of being gatherd out of them into their own land, because otherwise how could they be thus known. Ver. 10. Zion gives thanks for God’s returning favor. 120 ' ISAIAH Some (Al. Na. Del.) say the speaker here is still the Messiah, the Servant of Jehovah. “decketh himself with a garland’’,—‘‘Maketh himself a priestly head- dress (F.) ; ““weareth the turban like a priest’ (Del.), i. e., winds it around his head after the manner of a priest, the reference being to the tall mitre of the ordinary priest, and appropriate to the ‘‘kingdom of priests’’ dedi- cated to the offering of spiritual sacrifices to God continually. Mere lle By “bud” is meant the tender shoot, by “‘righteousness’’, moral excellence in particular, and by “‘pratse,’’ the manifestation of excel- lence in general. CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO Were) 12. 1 For Zion’s sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until her righteousness go forth as brightness, and her salvation as a lamp that burneth. 2 And the nations shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory; and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of Jeho- vah shall name. 3 Thou shalt also be a crown of beauty in the hand of Jeho- vah, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.. 4 Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called *Hephzi-bah, and thy land *Beulah: for Jehovah delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married. 5 For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee; and “as . the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee. 6 I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem: they shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that are Jehovah’s remembrancers, “take ye 1That is, My delight is in her *That is, Married ®Heb. with the joy of the bridegroom 4Or, keep not silence SALEM. no rest, 7 and give him no “rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth. 8 Jehovah hath sworn by his right hand, and by the arm of his strength, Surely I will no more give thy grain to be food for thine enemies; and foreigners shall not drink thy new wine for which thou hast lab- ored: 9 but they that have garnered it shall eat it, and praise Jehovah; and they that have gathered it shall drink it in the courts of my sanctuary. 10 Go through, go through the gates; prepare ye the way of the people; cast up, cast up the highway; gather out the stones; lift up an ensign “for the peoples. 11 Behold, Jehovah hath pro- claimed unto the end of the earth, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his re- ward is with him, and his ‘recompense before him. 12 And they shall call them The holy people, The redeemed of Jehovah; and thou shalt be called Sought out, A city not forsaken. 5Or, silence 6Or, over ‘Or, work THE FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF THE GLORY OF JERU- Bredenkamp and most later interpreters think it is the prophet himself who is here speaking. Many others (S. Na. He. Al. Coc.) make the Messiah still the speaker. Delitzsch thinks it is Jehovah Himself, as shown by the first part of verse 6 and also by the expression employed. We see no reason for any change of speaker from the one who is repre- sented as uttering the words of the former chapter, and if an exclusive subject must be chosen it is without doubt the Messiah. Ver. 1. “I will not rest’’,—This with the previous expression, “J will not hold my peace’, refers then not to the further predicting of Zion’s glory, but to prayer on Zion’s behalf, as most take it. Messiah is repre- sented as unfainting in His efforts on behalf of His people. 121 ISAIAH “her righteousness—her salvation’ ,—The same as in Chap. 61.10 and elsewhere. Ver. 2. “‘thou shalt be called by a new name’’,—1i. e., as expressive ~ of her new condition and character. Ver. 3. “itn the hand of Jehovah’’,—i. e., that He might hold it fast and keep it safe (V.), that He might admire it (Ew. Bre.), that He might exhibit it (Coc.), that He might crown Himself with it (Pis.), that it might be at His disposal for bestowment (Mic.). Gesenius says the hand of Jehovah is figurative for His power or protection, and this is perhaps the best solution to the problem, and therefore the first explanation made is to be preferred. Ver. 4. It would be better to retain all four words in the Hebrew, _ Azubah, Shemamah, Hephzibah and Beulah, or to put in the text their meaning in all four cases. “thy land shall be married’’,—i. e., to Jehovah, implying His pro- tection as well as His ownership. Ver. 5. “‘so shall thy sons marry thee’’,—There is here a seeming incongruity of sons marrying their mother. Alexander says the word rendered ‘‘marry’’ means as well “‘to in- habit’’ and that it is used in this sense here and so the difficulty is avoided. Fausset following Lowth changes the points, which are of no authority in Hebrew and reads “‘thy builder’ and refers the expression to Jehovah, in keeping with what has gone before and with the close of this verse. Gesenius objects to this by calling attention to the fact that the word is plural and cannot therefore refer to God. But this is not'an objection, as seen by a comparison of Gen. 20.13; 35.7; II Sam. 7.23 whereas the plural form “‘builders’’ may be used here of Jehovah in reference, as hus- bands. ‘The real objection to the change is that it is not necessary. “The word, which in itself expresses only “‘taking possession of’’ may be used here as Alexander would have us believe, or we may think, as Delitzsch does of Israel and the homeland being blended and intertwined in the personification here employed. Viewed in her relation to Jehovah she has Him for her Lord and Husband; viewed in her relation to her home- land she is the totality of those who are its possessors, and who call the land their own, as it were by the right of marriage. Ver. 6. ““watchmen”’,—The reference is not to “‘intercessory angels’ (Ew. Hah. Che.), nor to pious Israelites, who among the ruins of the walls await the return of the exiles (Ges.), because the appointment of such watchmen presupposes the existence of such walls and the restoration of the city, and if the watchers are upon the walls formerly destroyed but | now rebuilt, then it must be a post-exilic picture to which our attention is being called. Fausset says it is an image of the watchers set upon a city wall to look out for the approach of a messenger of good tidings, the good tidings in this case being the return of the exiles from Babylon, prefiguring the return of the Jews from their present time dispersion throughout the world. The watchers are not necessarily there to give notice of the approach of enemies, as Nagelsbach says, thus showing that even then there will be 22 ISAIAH enemies of Jerusalem, even though it be such a time as has been described; but the rather, as Delitzsch says, to lift up their entreating cry to Jehovah for the holy city entrusted to their care, the watchmen being the same as the “‘remembrancers’’ mentioned in the latter part of the verse. The post- exilian Jerusalem, says Delitzsch, is one with the Jerusalem of the last days in the eyes of the prophet. The speaker is still here to be considered as Messiah (Na.) although Delitzsch insists that Jehovah is still speaking, while in the latter part of the verse this writer thinks the prophet is introduced in an address to ‘Jehovah's remembrancers’’. Others (F. Ges.) think the speaker is the prophet, even in the beginning of the verse, speaking in the name of the Messiah. Ver. 8. [hese words come not so much as an answer to the prayer of the remembrancers (Na.) as an assurance to inspire them with confidence in prayer. Ver. 9. “In the courts of my sanctuary’’,—This is not to be con- strued that the harvest produce will be consumed only in this place, but that its enjoyment will be consecrated through a festal meal of a religious character. Ver. 10. What has been solemnly promised in the two preceding verses is now to be fulfilled. Here at least we may concede that the speaker is the prophet speaking in the name of Jehovah. Alexander thinks that the analogy of Chap. 57.14, together with the context here makes it probable that what is here described is “‘the entrance of the Gentiles into Zion, an event so frequently and so fully set forth in the preceding chapters.” Gesenius, followed by Delitzsch, thinks the address is to the exiled Jews in Babylon and other cities to go through the gates of these cities, to march out of Babylon upon their return from exile. Henderson, Fausset, Rosenmuller and others think the address is to the Gentile nations to go through the gates of their own cities, in order to remove all obstacles out of the way of the returning Israelites. The second explanation is perhaps more nearly correct, although there is little ground on which to rest the decision one way or the other. We are rather inclined to the idea of Nagelsbach, who thinks the address, while primarily to the Jews, includes the Gentiles also. They are all to pass through the gates and to prepare the way by the removal of obstacles and to assist in making the return home practicable, easy and glorious. ‘The expressions that follow are rhetorical and not to be literally under- stood of course. “lft up an ensign for the peoples’’,—Since the people are scattered much, not all being in one city, the command goes forth to lift up a standard “‘high over’ (Al. Lut. Del.), not “to” (Vul. Sep.), or hardly “for’ (our text, Mic.), the people so that the scattered ones in all places may see and come and join the outgoing procession back to the holy land. Ver. 11. “unto the end of the earth’’,—This shows that reference is not being made merely to a proclamation published in the realm of Cyrus, but to the very ends of the earth, wherever the scattered ones of Wee) ISAIAH Israel are to be found—there it is to be told to the daughter of Zion that her salvation is coming. “Say ye’’, etc..—T hose who are commanded to say this are not merely | the prophets in Israel, but all the mourners in Zion wherever they may be. According to analogy of Chap. 40.10 the reference in the pronoun “‘his’’ in both cases is to Jehovah. Ver. 12. “And they shall call’’, etc..—The verb is indefinite and the expression means ‘“‘men shall call’, etc. “Sought out’’,—The city will be sought after and loved by all and especially by Jehovah. The expression answers to “‘not forsaken’’ in the parallel clause. Jerusalem shall be no longer abandoned but highly prized and loved. Ss CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE 1 Who is this that cometh from my garments, and I “have stained all my Edom, with *dyed garments from Boz- rah? this that is glorious in his apparel, marching in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. 2 Wherefore art thou red in thine ap- parel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winevat? 3 I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the peoples there was no man with me; yea, I “trod them in mine anger, and trampled them in my wrath; and their “life-blood ‘is sprinkled upon raiment, 4 Por the day of veangeance ‘was in my heart, and ‘the year of my redeemed is come. 5 And I looked, and there was none to helo; and I wondered that there was none to uphold; therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me; and my wrath, it upheld me. 6 And I *trod down the peoples in mine anger, and °made them drunk in my wrath, and I “poured out their lifeblood on the earth. 1Or, crimsoned “Or, will tread . . 8Or, strength 4Or, shall be ‘Or, will stain and trample Or, zs ‘Or, my year of redemption : 8 Or, / will tread... and make... and will pour out Another reading is, drake them in pieces. WOr, drought down their strength to the earth. Ns Vers. 1-6. Ver. 1. The question here is to be put in the mouth of the prophet himself. The question is rhetorical, as the prophet well knows who it is, but the question is put to awaken our attention and direct it to the One whom the prophet sees coming. Messiah is pictured as approaching Jeru- salem after having taken vengeance on the enemies of His people and Him- self, and He is represented under imagery taken from the destruction of Edom, the last and most bitter foe of the people of Israel. He comes from Bozrah, the chief city of Edom, with garments “dyed” (crimsoned) with the blood of the Edomites. : “marching’’,—The literal is “throwing back his head’’, in proud self-consciousness. The last clause of this verse is Messiah’s answer to the question. ‘THE DAY OF VENGEANCE. “speak in righteousness’ ,—Righteousness is here used adverbially, as frequently, and means to speak strictly according to the standard of truth, and the expression is not therefore with Fausset and others (Ma. Kn. Hit.) 124 ISAIAH , to be rendered “‘speak of righteousness,”’ i. e., of salvation as the result of His righteousness. Interpreters are much divided as to the meaning of the passage. Rosenmuller thinks the restored Jews might be apprehensive of the enmity of certain neighboring nations, who had rejoiced in their calamity, and that the prophecy before us was intended to allay their apprehension. Henderson thinks the prophet is deducing an argument from Jeho- vah’s past dealings with His ancient people in favor of His graciously regarding them in their then distantly future dispersion, and that therefore no reference is made to any future judgments to be inflicted on the country formerly occupied by the Edomites. Calvin disputes any reference to the Messiah whatsoever and finds here simply the announcement of a future judgment on Edom. ‘This is practically also the view of Hitzig, Umbreit, Gesenius, Beck and a number of other modern scholars. ‘The Fathers applied the passage directly to the sufferings and ascension of Christ, and many of them put the question, ““‘Who ts this that cometh,”’ etc., in the mouth of angels who guard the gates of heaven. Vitringa understands by Bozrah the city of Rome and Edom as the countries captured by Rome, and he applies the passage to the overthrow of the Antichrist (Rome) by the warrior who rides on the white horse in Rev. 19.11. Stier is of the opinion that the one who is seen coming is Christ com- ing from the fulfillment of what is related in Rev. 14.20 and 19.18,21. Delitzsch finds the historical fulfillment of the prophecy in what befell Edom at the hands of the Maccabean princes, while its final fulfillment, he thinks, is the destruction of the Antichrist and his hosts, which is the New ‘Testament counterpart to this piece. There is no doubt whatever but that the prophecy must be taken as a threatening against Edom and that Rosenmuller has the right idea as to the connection with what goes before it. As Delitzch says, ““The dis- course anticipates the question as to how Israel can rejoice in renewed pos- session of the land of its inheritance, if, as before, it is still to be sur- rounded by such malevolent neighbors as the Edomites.’’ Ass to its typical reference it must be that of the judgment of the end-time upon the Anti- christ. Ver. 2. “wine-vat’’;~—The wine-press wherein grapes were trodden by the feet by reason of which the garments become stained with the juice. Ver. 3. The reply of the Messiah. He treads the wine-press not as a sufferer, but as an inflicter. Many writers think that John had these words in mind when he wrote Rev. 19.13-15. (F. Na.) The verbs, as usual in animated discourse, are in the past tense. “and of the peoples there was no man with me’’,—This indicates the universal antichristian spirit of the nations. The reason of this is that it was the nations themselves that were cut off like grapes and put into the wine-press. Fausset says, ‘“This final blow inflicted by the Messiah and His armies (Rey. 19.13-15) shall decide His claim to the Kingdom usurped by Satan Epa) ISAIAH and by the Beast to whom Satan delegates his power. It will be a day of judgment to the hostile Gentiles just as His first coming was a day of judgment to the unbelieving Jews.”’ Ver. 4. Since the verbs in verse 3 were rendered in the past tense it would seem best to so render them both here, “‘was in my heart’, i. e., in my mind, in my thought, and “had come’. As in Chap. 34.8 and Chap. 61.2 the time of vengeance is described as a “‘day”’ and that of grace and reward to the redeemed as a “‘year.”’ Ver. 5. These are the same words as found in Chap. 59.16, except there the word “‘righteousness’’ is found instead of “‘wrath’’, the latter being an equivalent for the former, His wrath being but the executioner and agent of His righteousness and justice. Says Nagelsbach, ‘‘It will happen again as it did in the days of Edom; the Lord will see none of the peoples of the world on His side.”’ 7 I will make mention of the loving- kindnesses of Jehovah, and the praises of Jehovah, according to all that Jehov-h hath bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which-he hath bestowed on them accord- ing to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses. 8 For he said, Surely they are my people, children that will not deal falsely: so he was their Saviour. 9 ‘In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old. 10 But they rebelled and grieved his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and himself fought against them. 11 “Then he remembered the days of old, Moses and his people, saying, Where is he that brought them up out of the sea with the *shepherds of his flock? where is he that put his holy Spirit in the midst of them? 12 that caused his glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses? that divided tAnother reading is, /z all their adversity he was no adversary “Or, Then his people remembered the ancient days of Moses &c. 3Another reading is, shepherd. the waters before them, to make himself an everlasting name? 13 that led them through the depths, as a horse in the wilderness, so that they stumbled not? 14 As the cattle that go down into the valley, the Spirit of Jehovah caused them to rest: so didst thou lead thy peo- ple, to make thyself a glorious name. 15 Look down from heaven,*and be- hold from the habitation of thy holiness and of thy glory: where are thy zeal and thy mighty acts, the yearning of thy heart and thy compassions are restrained toward me. 16 For thou art our Father, though Abraham knoweth us not, and Israel doth not acknowledge us: thou, O Jehovah, art our Father; our Redeem- er from everlasting is thy name. 17 O Jehovah, why dost thou make us to err from thy ways, and hardenest our heart from thy fear? Return for thy serv- ants’ sake, the tribes of thine inheri- tance. 18 Thy holy people possessed it but a little while: our adversaries have trodden down thy sanctuary. 19 We are become as they over whom thou never barest rule, as they that were not called by thy name. Vers. 7-19. ‘THANKSGIVING, CONFESSION AND SUPPLICATION OF JEHOVAH’S PEOPLE. Ver. 7. The speaker here is the prophet speaking in the name of Jehovah’s people. Favor in the past becomes the foundation of supplica- tion for the future. The plurals, says Fausset, and the repetitions imply that language is inadequate to express all the goodness of God. “The passage must be understood”’, says Alexander, ‘‘as relating to the favors experienced and the sins committed by the chosen people throughout the period of the old dispensation.”’ 126 ISAIAH The prevailing opinion is that we have here a prophecy relating to ’ the future restoration of Israel. (V. F.) Fausset says, ‘‘us’’ refers to the Jews in the time just preceding their final restoration, while “house of Israel’ points to Israel of all ages to whom God had always been good. Ver. 8. The prophet makes Jehovah the author of the saying here quoted, but nowhere has the Lord said or did He say that Israel would not lie and prove false; indeed He knew they would do so and would not keep faith with Him. Fausset, and with him are the majority, explains the word “‘said’’ as a saying in His heart, 1. e., He thought, as in Psa. 95.10. Thus God is here said, according to human modes of thought, to say within Himself what He might naturally have expected as a result of His goodness to Israel, and thus the enormity of their unnatural perversity is the more vividly set forth. [he verb may therefore be taken as a future of hope. Says Delitzsch, ‘‘Jehovah looked for their gracious requital of His cove- nant-grace by covenant-fidelity.”’ Ver. 9. The first clause of this verse is famous for the diversity of explanation connected with it. According to the rendering of our text the meaning is, as Delitzsch says, ‘‘Just as a man may feel pain while in his person he is raised above it, so God feels pain without His blessedness being hurt, and God felt His people’s suffering; it moved Him inwardly.” (V. Ew. Um. Kn. Del. Lut. Hit. Cle. Hend.) The rendering of our text, however, can hardly be sustained for the reason that in all the ancient manuscripts there is a “‘not’’ in the text, and critical presumption is much in its favor. For this reason the marginal rendering must be substituted for that of the text. Some of the other readings, which retain the ‘‘not’’ are as follows: “In all their enmity He was not an enemy.” (D. Al.) “In all their affliction there was no affliction’’, i. e., such as their sins merited. (Jar.) “In all their affliction He did not afflict them.’’ (Jer.) But this can hardly be said to be true, unless some modifying clause is included in the explanation. “In all their affliction He was not an adversary’, i. e., though He afflicted them He did it not in hate. (He.) But this gives two different meanings to the same word. “In all their distress there was no distress’, i. e., of a real serious nature. (Ges.) “Tn all their straits there was no straitness in His goodness to them.” “Tn all their affliction there was no extreme, fatal affliction.” (Auri- villius. ) . Those who adopt the rendering of our text think the “not’’ is in the text by mistake for “‘to him’’, i. e., “In all their affliction there was afflic- tion to Him.”’ But this contention can hardly be sustained. “the angel of His presence’’,—This is the angel whom Jehovah sent PAP ISAIAH with Israel and who is identified with the presence of Jehovah. (Ex. 33. 14,15), and in a certain sense with Jehovah Himself. It denotes the angel whose presence was the presence of Jehovah, or in whom Jehovah was personally present; therefore not an angel who stands always in the presence of Jehovah (Cle.), and so always beholds the countenance of Jehovah, but an angel who is Jehovah’s countenance, or in whom Jeho- vah’s countenance is to be seen. ‘That this angel of Jehovah’s presence was none other than that divine person who is represented in the New Testament as the brightness of the Father’s glory and the express image of His person, in whose face the glory of God shines and in whom dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, even Christ, the Messiah, there can be little if any doubt. Ver. 10. “he... himself’’,—i. e., Jehovah. He is changed into an adversary to those who resist His Holy Spirit. . : Ver. 11. Here again are various interpretations. The Dutch Bible makes Jehovah the subject of the first clause, but makes it all the language of the people, i. e., ““Once He remembered the days of old, but now where ts’, etc. But the words “but now” are thus supplied without authority. ‘The Targum supplied “lest they say’’ before the second clause, which then becomes the language of Israel’s enemies exulting in the failure of Jehovah's promises. But this idea is arbitrarily supplied and not ex- pressed in the text. All are agreed that the language from the second clause on is that of the people. Fausset, following Jerome and Cyril, makes the first clause the lan- guage of Jehovah and the second with what follows, the language of the people. This is a possible construction and is that of our text. Not- withstanding their perversity Jehovah forgot not His covenant of old and therefore did not wholly forsake them. The transition, however, is somewhat abrupt, and not to be assumed without necessity. The marginal reading is much to be preferred. Most modern writers since Vitringa are agreed that the first clause describes the penitent language of the people, while what follows gives their very language. (Del.) However, instead of taking “His people’ of the text as the subject, as is done by the marginal reading, it is better, Stier thinks, because of its remoteness, to leave it where it is and read “‘they”’ for “‘He’’. Either con- struction, however, is acceptable. . The “‘sea’’ is the Red Sea, and the “shepherds’’ are Moses and Aaron and other leaders. If “‘shepherd’’ be read, then the reference is to Moses alone. Ver. 12. “caused his glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses’’,—i. e., caused His almighty power, of which His arm is the estab- lished symbol, to be near or present with Moses when he needed its help. Ver. 13. ‘“‘as a horse in the wilderness’ ,—By ‘“‘wilderness’’ is here meant the desert, free from inequalities over which a horse can run without stumbling. So He led them through the Red Sea. Ver. 14. “As the cattle that go down tn the valley’’,—i. e., as the droves descending from the bare hills to the grassy tracts of the lowlands. 128 ISAIAH Ver. 15. Here begins a fervent appeal to God to pity Israel now on the ground of His former mercies to them, an appeal which continues to the end of the chapter and throughout the following one. Jehovah is called upon to look down from His dwelling place in heaven on their present distress and not restrain His love and might. He is still their Father, and with great boldness He is besought as to why He permitted His people to become hardened and go astray, and He is called upon to return in His favor to His inheritance. The complaint is made that His people had possessed only for a short time the promised land, while their enemies had trodden down the Sanctuary, and they had become as though they were not the chosen people of their God. Ver. 16. “though Abraham .. . and Israel’’,—By some this is ex- plained as meaning that these human progenitors were dead and so unable to render help. (V. Na. Del.) Others, who read “‘when’’ for “‘though’’ (Moore), and still others, who retain “though” (F.), make the meaning that natural affection and regard would cease rather than that God's paternal love should fail, or His covenant of adoption be annulled. “‘Even though Abraham, our earthly father, on whom we have prided ourselves, disown us, Thou wilt not.” (F.) Ver. 17. The question with which this verse opens must be taken in a permissive sense. (F. Na. Del. Lut.) Ver. 19. The rendering of our text is approved by Nagelsbach, Delitzsch, Lowth and the majority, while Fausset, Alexander, Barnes and others prefer that of the Authorized Version, arguing from the analogy of verse 18 that while the first clause points to the Jews, the second one points to their foes. Our text, however, is much the smoother, and the grounds for the change are far from sufficient. CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR This chapter, the first verse of which in the Hebrew Bible belongs to the preceding one, contains Israel’s further prayer that Jehovah would visibly intervene and show Himself to be the God and Father of His people as of old. In violent agitation the prayer goes up that God would rend the heavens, bursting forth, as it were, to execute vengeance on His people’s foe and put an end to Israel’s distress (verses 1 and 2), a thing which only a God like Himself can do as proven by His acts of old (verses 3 and 4), in spite of which Israel had sunk deeper in corruption and sin (verses 5, 6 and 7). But Jehovah is their Father and they the work of His hands; therefore let it please Him to be gracious (verses 8 and 9). All the cities, Zion and Jerusalem, have been made desolate (verses 10 and 11), and surely Jehovah cannot refrain from taking vengeance and deliver- ing His people. CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE JEHOVAH’s ANSWER TO THE PRAYER OF THE PEOPLE. 1 I *am inquired of by them that that sought me not: I said, Behold me, asked not for me; I 7am found of them behold me, unto a nation *that was not 10r, was inquired of 3Or, as otherwise read, that hath not called *Or, was found ubon P29 ISAIAH called by my name. 2 I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebel- lious people, that walk in a way that is not good, after their own thoughts; 3 a people that provoke me to my face continually, sacrificing in gardens, and burning incense upon bricks; 4 that ‘sit among the graves, and lodge in the *secret places; that eat swine’s flesh, and broth of abominable things is in their come not near to me, for I am holier than thou. These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day. 6 Behold, it is written before me: I will not keep silence, but will recompense, yea, I will recompense into their bosom, 7 your own iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers together, saith Jehovah, that have burned incense upon the mountains, and “blasphemed me upon the hills: therefore will I ‘first measure their work into their bosom. 6Or, defied vessels; 5 that say,. Stand by thyself, 4Or, dwell 5Or, vaults — ‘Or, measure their former work Vers. 1-7. Nor ALL IsRAEL SHALL BE SAVED. Ver 1. Before promise comes first a rebuke and a menace. The penitent portion of Israel had in her prayer identified herself with the whole nation, but Jehovah answers that destruction and not salvation awaits a portion of the nation, and that the larger portion. Many writers, and among them most of the modern scholars, think both this verse and the one following refers to unbelieving Jews. (Del.) But there are serious objections to thus taking the words. Paul in Rom. 10.20 refers verse 7 to the Gentiles and this Delitzsch admits has very great weight. The difference between the Hebrew words as used for “‘nation’’ in verse 1 and “‘people’’ in verse 2 favors the reference of the word in verse 1, as Delitzsch also admits, to the heathen. The context seems also to favor the thought that Jehovah is here contrasting His success among the heathen with His want of the same among Israel. But most of all the expression, “a nation that was not called by my name’ can hardly describe Israel even in her worst state of degradation. This last objection Delitzsch relieves by using the marginal reading of our text, “that hath not called upon my name’’, which is a possible and somewhat plausible rendering of the Hebrew. This author has also some- - what to say concerning Paul’s application of the passage, but we are in- clined to think he deals too lightly with this important testimony. The balance of argument certainly favors the reference to the Gentiles and to this opinion, for the reasons given, we incline. (F. S. Al. Na. Hof. Hend.) Ver. 3. “burning incense upon bricks’ ,— (1) Bricks come under the description of “‘hewn stones’’ and God's altars according to Mosaic law must be of unhewn stones and of earth.- The heathen used hewn stones. Chiseling was also forbidden and there- fore they could not inscribe superstitious symbols on them as the heathen did, and bricks were more easily inscribed than stone. (F. Na.) (2) The flat brick-paved roofs of the houses upon which, sacrifice to the sun was made. (Bo.) (3) An allusion to some practice now unknown, but possibly con- © nected with the curiously inscribed bricks found in modern times near the site of ancient Babylon. (Ros.) (4) Altars hastily constructed and naturally out of brick as the superficial covering. (Al. Ges.) The first view, which.-is but little dif- ferent from this last, is the preferable one. 130 ISAIAH Ver. 4. “‘sitt among the graves’’,—i. e., for the purpose of necro- mancy or communing with the dead (F. Na. Del.), or sacrificing to the dead, 1. e., purificatory offering presented to the dead (V.), the former being the better explanation. “lodge in the secret places’’,—1. e., consecrated precincts, the idol’s inmost shrine (Ho.), where they used to sleep to have divine communica- tions in dreams (Jer.), or perhaps, in keeping with the former clause, sepulchral caves. (Ma.) The whole verse, with the one before it, is, as Alexander says, “‘a highly wrought description of idolatrous abominations.”’ Ver. 5. “I am holier than thou’’,—The reference here is doubtless to the fact of their having gained initiation into the mysteries, or attained a high degree of sanctity by taking part in specially sacred heathen rites of purification which were not sanctioned by law. Such He says are the prey of a continual fire whose smoke goes up perpetually before Him. The fire of God’s wrath was kindled at the sight and exhibited itself in smoking pantings from His nostrils. In Hebrew the nose is the seat of anger. Ver. 6. “it 1s written before me’’,—What is written before Him? The punishment, the divine sentence of judgment which follows (V. Al. Na. Ma.), or the eternal law of retribution (Um.), or their idolatrous practices, their sin, in scornful contempt of Jehovah’s law (Del.)? Per- haps the former explanation is the better. “he meaning may be that the fact that he will recompense is written in a document, as in Job. 13.26 and Jer. 22.30 (V. He. Na. Lo. Noy.), although nothing further than a decree in His own mind, an eternal purpose, is needed to give good meaning to the words. “tnto their. bosom’’,—Either a reference to the folds of the oriental dress where articles were carried and the thought of recompensing to them more than they can carry in their hand, i. e., a full, large measure of retri- bution; or, I will repay it to the very person from whom it emanated. The clause seems to be parenthetical, and is properly repeated at the close of the next verse. Ver. 7. “first measure their work’’,—The marginal reading cannot be right. For why should Jehovah punish only this? The word “‘first”’ is rightly taken as an adverb by our text. (Na. Ew. Or. Del. Bred.) 8 Thus saith Jehovah, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not, for a blessing is in it: so will I do for my servants’ sake, that I may not destroy them all. 9 And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains; and my chosen shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there. 10 And Sharon shall be a “fold of flocks, and the valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down in, for my people that have sought me. 11 But ye that forsake Jehovah, that forget my holy mountain, that prepare a table for “Fortune, and 1Or, pasture *Heb. Gad. See Gen. 30.11 that fill up mingled wine unto “Destiny; 12 I will destine you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter; because when I called, ye did not an- swer; when I spake, ye did not hear; but ye did that which was evil in mine eyes, and chose that wherein I delighted not. 13 Therefore thus saith the Lord Je- hovah, Behold, my servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry; behold, my serv- ants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty; behold, my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be put to shame; 14 behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart, but ®Heb. Meni ISAIAH ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, and he who blesseth himself in the. earth shall wail for “vexation of spirit. 15 - shall bless himself in the God of *truth; And ye shall leave your name for °a and he that sweareth in the earth shall curse unto my chosen; and the Lord swear by the God of “truth; because the Jehovah will slay thee; and he will call former troubles are forgotten, and be- his servants by another name: 16 so that cause they are hid from mine eyes. +Heb. breaking ®SHeb. Amen See II Cor. 1.20; Rev. 3.14. ®Heb. ax oath Vers. 8-16. Not ALL ISRAEL SHALL BE CAST OFF. THE REMNANT To BE SAVED. 4 Even as in a cluster of grapes, consisting of good and bad berries, there is a blessing, i. e., the wine-producing juice of the good berries, and there- fore the whole cluster will not be thrown away; so God will spare the godly remnant while the ungodly mass of the nation shall be destroyed. The meaning is not therefore, as Knobel says, “He will not destroy the grapes along with the stem and husks’’, nor is the contrast between the good clusters and other bad clusters (Al.), but it is as J. D. Michaelis and others (F. Na. Del.) say, ‘He will not destroy the grapes that have good sap in them along with the preponderant bad ones.’ “my servants’’,—The remnant according to the election oe grace. (Rom. 11.28.) Ver. 9. “‘my mountatns’’,—Not Mount Zion and Mount Moriah only (V.), but the whole of Palestine. (F. Al. Na. Del.) Nearly all modern German commentators say this verse predicts the restoration of the Jews from Babylon. Here again the two schools of interpretation are at widest divergence. Henderson says the future happy occupation of Palestine by a regenerated remnant of Jews is here clearly predicted; while Alexander says it predicts the perpetuation of the Jewish Church in the remnant which believed on Christ, and which, enlarged by the accession of the Gentiles, is heir to all the promises of the Church of the old dispensation. Ver. 10. “the valley of Achor a place for herds’’,—Achor means trouble. It is a valley near Jericho so called because of the trouble caused to Israel by Achan’s sin. This valley, proverbial for whatever caused calamity, shall become proverbial for joy and prosperity. As Sharon was noted for its verdure, so also, some think, was Achor, this last being made more probable from the fact that Hosea says it shall be a “‘door of hope’. Some think that because Sharon was on the Mediterranean and Achan was by the Jordan these two are chosen as showing the whole breadth of the land from west to east. Ver. 11. The words “‘Fortune’’ and “‘Destiny’’ refer to two heathen deities and the last half of this verse refers to meals of the gods held in their honor. The Hebrew for the word is “Gad” and ‘Meni’, Gad, as the name of a divinity, means doubtless the star of fortune, of which the Babylonians had two, Jupiter, whom the Arabs named “Great Fortune’, and Venus, whom they named ‘‘Little Fortune’, and which in our text is represented by Meni, which Goddess: was supposed to number the fates or the destiny of men. ba? ISAIAH Vitringa and Knobel think Gad refers to the sun and Meni to the moon. The Authorized Version, and with it many interpreters, understands the word Gad as meaning ‘“‘troop’’, as in Gen. 30.11, and Meni as meaning “number’’, the first pointing to the troops of planets and the multitude of stars as objects of worship, while the second refers to convivial assemblies connected with idolatrous worship. The passage is descriptive of idolatrous worship which after all is the only point of importance. Ver. 12. “‘destine you to the sword’’,—Alexander has well re- marked that it is better here to retain the word “‘number’”’ as in the Author- ized Version, instead of “‘destine’’, as in our text, because the writer’s idea is that they shall be cut off one by one, or rather one with another—all without exception. ‘Ihe same word is used elsewhere for the numbering of sheep. (Jer. 33.13.) The word thus translated would seem to have some bearing on the meaning of the word in the preceding verse. Ver. 13. “‘ye shall be hungry’’,—Fausset thinks this may refer to the destruction of Jerusalem wherein the Jews were so hungry that 1,000,- 000 perished by famine, and that it may refer to a further fulfillment to take place just before the creation of the new heavens and the new earth, as the context in verse 17 implies. Ver. 15. “And ye shall leave your name for a curse’’,—This means more than to leave the name to be cursed; it means to leave it as a formula for cursing, so that men will say, ‘‘Jehovah slay thee as He slew them’’. The name of the Jew, as Fausset reminds us, has long been a formula of execration; if one wishes to curse another, he can utter nothing worse than this: ‘God make thee what the Jew is.”’ “my chosen... his servants’’,—The believing remnant. “another name’’,—Nagelsbach says, ‘“‘One name originally united the wicked and the godly, for they were all called ‘Israelites’. Can the elect of the Lord still continue to bear the name which, after the judgment of God, has become cursed? No. ‘The Lord will therefore give to His servants ‘another name’, and thus is the new covenant, that should come in the place of the old, intimated.” Some think the meaning is that as your name is to be a name by which men shall curse, so my servants shall have a name by which men shall bless. Others merely give it a more general sense as meaning that their condition shall be altogether different, while still others think that it relates to the name ‘‘Christian’’ as distinguished from the Jew. Alexan- der thinks that the correct explanation is to be found in a combination of all three views. In Chap. 62.2 of Jehovah’s people it is said that they shall be given a “new name’’, and according to Old Testament usage the promise of “another name’ or a “‘new name’’ implies a different character and state. Ver. 16. “‘so that’’,—Whether the particle be so translated with Luther and others (Na. .Del.), or translated ‘‘which’’ (with respect to which, i. e., by which), as Alexander renders it, it must in either case relate to the previously expressed antecedent “‘name’’, by which the meaning would seem to be that the servants of Jehovah shall be called or named 15 o> ISAIAH after the God of truth, so that His name and theirs shall be identical, and whoever blesses and swears by the one does so by the other also. (Al.) Blessing himself means praying for God’s blessing, and swearing means the solemn invocation of God’s presence as a witness. “the God of truth’’,—1i. e., the God of Amen; of what is true and firm; the God to whom that quality of covenant-keeping truth essentially belongs; the God who translates what He promises into Yea and Amen. 17 For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things shall not be remembered, nor come into mind, 18 But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create; for, be- hold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. 19 And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people; and there shall be heard in her no more the voice of weeping and the voice of cry- ing. 20 There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days; for the child shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner being a hundred years old shall be accursed. 21 And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. 22 They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree shall be the days of my people, and my chosen shall ‘long enjoy the work of their hands. 23 They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth for “calamity; for they are the seed of the blessed of Jeho- vah, and their offspring *with them. 24 And it shall come to pass that, before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. 25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox; and dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith Jehovah. *Heb, wear out *Or, sudden terror 8Or, shall be with them Vers. 17-25. “THE ETERNAL BLESSING OF THE REMNANT IN THE NEW EARTH AND THE NEW HEAVENS. Ver. 17. “‘the former things shall not be remembered’’,—Most in- terpreters refer “former things’’ to the former troubles of verse 16; others simply construe it indefinitely as all former troubles. The more natural explanation, however, is to refer it to the former heaven and earth, as the simple, more immediate and more exact parallel. (AI. Del.) (See Jer. 3.16.) The former heavens and earth, with all their sorrows under the fall, shall be so far from recurring that their very remembrance shall be obliterated by the many mercies which Jehovah will bestow upon the new heavens and the new earth. Many expositors understand the reference to be to the renovation of the present earth with its skies after the destruction which shall occur at the end-time. (F. Sco. Burnet.) Scofield says that verse 17 looks beyond the kingdom age to the new heavens and the new earth, but verses 18 to 25 describe the kingdom age itself. ; Alexander says, of course, that it is merely a prediction of entire change in the existing state of things, the precise nature of the change and the means by which it is to be brought about forming no part of the reve- lation here. Ver. 18. “that which I create’’,—1. e., the new heavens and the new earth mentioned in the previous verse, Jerusalem being added for emphasis. Jerusalem is to be created a rejoicing and her people a joy by 134 ISAIAH _making these things the characteristics of her inner and outward life, her uniform, constant state. Ver. 19.—(See Rev. 7.17 and 2.14.) (F.N.) Ver. 20. “‘no more thence’’,—i. e., from that time forward. Lon- gevity of life is here promised as of old. The particle translated ‘‘thence’’, and properly so, is however never used in regard to time, but always in regard to place. It refers to the place where the conditions. prophesied are to exist. It does not therefore mean “from then’, or “‘from that time forward’’, as Fausset translates it, al- though such thought is in keeping with the real meaning of the prediction. It simply means, ‘There, in that place, shall be no more an infant of days’, or as Donald Moore puts it, ‘There shall no suckling thence arise or come into being who shall live only some days, whose age shall be counted by days’. “an infant of days’’,—1i. e., an infant who shall live but a few days. “an old man that hath not filled his days’’,—i. e., attained unto the regular measure of human life. None shall die, says Fausset, without attaining a full old age. “the child shall die a hundred years old’’,—i..e., he who in other days had died as a youth, and whose death was considered premature, shall not die before his hundredth year. He that dies a hundred years old shall die a mere child. “the sinner being a hundred years old shall be accursed’’,—This seems to mean that if a sinner shall die when he is a hundred years old, an age regarded in those days as mere childhood, it shall be deemed as the effect of a special visitation of God’s wrath. While the titne predicted will be far superior to those of the present, it will not be perfect, because sin and death will still exist. (Rev. 20.7,8.) “Longevity is restored, but death, the last enemy’, says Scofield, “‘is not destroyed till after Satan’s rebellion at the end of the thousand years.” “It would be wrong’’, says Delitzsch, ‘‘to think that all this means less than what is said in Chap. 25.8 only in appearance. ‘Ihere the final annulling of death is spoken of; here only the limiting of its power.”’ Nagelsbach thinks the last half of the verse contradicts the first half, for, says he, ‘‘if no one, not even an old man, falls short of the normal measure, then no one can die as a.boy.’’ ‘To this his interpreter, Donald Moore, replies, ‘“The prophet does not say that no one, not even an old man, falls short/of the normal measure, in the former part of this verse. When one who dies at the age of a hundred years is counted a boy, and when a sinner who dies a hundred years old is regarded as prematurely cut off by the judgment of God, this is no contradiction of the declaration that the suck- ling’s age will not be reckoned by days, and that old men will fill up the measure of their days. For the hundred years old sinner will not be included in the category of old men. If a sinner dies at a hundred he would be regarded as cursed by God. And if one of a hundred years should die a natural death (supposing such a case, which from what has been said cannot really occur), he would be only a boy at his death.”’ Ver. 22. ‘“‘as the days of a tree’’,—Vhey shall live as long as trees, Oaks, terebinths, palms, cedar, which live for centuries. 135 ISATAH “shall long enjoy’’,—The word means “enjoy to the full’. The Hebrew is really “‘to use up’, “‘to consume’’, “‘to wear out’’, seeming to imply, as it were, that they shall live to enjoy the last of it. Ver. 23. “nor bring forth for calamity’’,—i. e., that which falls unexpectedly and carries their offspring, their children away (Del.), not bring forth children for a sudden death (F.). But Alexander says these are mere conjectures and that the Hebrew word means “extreme agitation and alarm’’ and that the meaning is that they shall not bring forth children merely to be the subjects of distressing solicitude. “and their offspring with them’’,—Our text makes their offspring as well as themselves to be the seed of the blessed of Jehovah, which is of course true; but the marginal reading is to be preferred, ‘‘and their offspring shall be with them”, i. e., not brought forth only to be cut off by sudden destruction or calamity. Ver. 25. The curse seems to remain on the serpent. It will still creep in the dust, but without injuring man. (See Chap. 11.7.) CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX 1 Thus saith Jehovah, Heaven is my 7 Before she travailed, she brought throne, and the earth is my footstool: forth; before her pain came, she was what manner of house will ye build unto delivered of a man-child. 8 Who hath me? and what place shall be my rest? heard such a thing? who hath seen 2 For all these things hath my hand such things? Shall a land be “born in made, and so all these things came to one day? shall a nation be brought forth be, saith Jehovah: but to this man will at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, I look, even to him that is poor and of a she brought forth her children. 9 Shall contrite spirit, and that trembleth at my I bring to the birth, and not cause to word. 3 He that killeth an ox is as he bring forth? saith Jehovah: shall I that that slayeth a man; he that sacrificeth a cause to bring forth shut the womb? lamb, as he that breaketh a dog’s neck; saith thy God. he that offereth ‘an oblation, as he that 10 Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and offereth swine’s blood; he that *burneth be glad for her, all ye that love her: frankincense, as he that blesseth an idol. rejoice for joy with her, all ye that Yea, they have chosen their own ways, mourn over her; 11 that ye may suck and their soul delighteth in their abomi- arid be satished with: the, breastalori ner nations: 4 | also will choose their “de- consolations; that ye may milk out, and lusions, and will bring their fears upon be delighted with the abundance of her them; because when I called, none did glory. 12 For thus saith Jehovah, Be- answer; when I spake, they did not hold, I will extend peace to her like a hear: but they did that which was evil river, and the glory of the nations like in mine eyes, and chose that wherein I an overflowing stream: ‘and ye. shall delighted not. suck thereof; ye shall be borne upon the 5 Hear the word of Jehovah, ye that side, and shall be dandled upon the tremble at his word: Your brethren that knees. 13 As one whom his mother hate you, that cast you out for my comforteth, so will I comfort you; and name’s sake, have said, Let Jehovah be ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem. 14 glorified, that we may see your joy; And ye shall see it, and your heart shall but it is they that shall be put to shame. rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like 6 A voice of tumult from the city, a the tender grass: and the hand of Jeho- voice from the temple, a voice of Jeho- vah shall be known toward his serv- vah that rendereth recompense to his ants; and he will have indignation enemies, against his enemies. 10Or, a meal-offering 4Or, travailed with for but one day "Heb. maketh a memorial of 5Or, then shall ye suck, ye Fone 3Or, mockings 136 ISAIAH S Vers. 1-14. EXCLUSION OF THE WICKED FROM END-TIME BLESSINGS. Ver. 1. “what manner of house will ye build unto me?’’,—Hen- dewerk, Knobel and Hitzig think that God here forbids the Jews, who meditated remaining behind in Chaldea, or in Babylon, to build a temple there, as the Jews did in Egypt at a later time at Leontopolis. But there is nO support whatever in the text for this. The prophet is still describ- ing the condition of things to be expected in the time of the end when there will be a new heaven and a new earth. He is addressing those about to return from exile, and the “‘house’’ of our text refers doubtless to the temple which is to take the place of the one destroyed (Chap. 64.9). He does not interdict them from building this temple (Chap. 44.28; 56.7; 60.7; Ezra 1.2-4; Haggai 1 and 2), but the thought is that the external temple is at all times a thing of minor importance; that, as Klostermann says, God does not need a temple at all, nor does He want men to forget His majesty in petty architecture, even though He promised the prospect of a rebuilt temple. Umbreit thinks the reference is to the New Jerusalem in which there is no temple, as Nagelsbach also remarks, and where God forbids one being built. But Delitzsch reminds us that according to Chaps. 56 and 60 there is a temple in the New Jerusalem. Barnes and Alexander both think it refers to the time when the temple of Herod was being finished. “what manner’’,—This is much to be preferred to ““where’’ of the Authorized text, since the query seems to have reference in both places to the nature or the quality rather than the mere locality of the edifice in question. (F. V. Al. Na. Del.) Ver. 2. “‘all these things’’,—i. e., heaven and earth, the world of visible surroundings. In view of His creative dignity a temple is a small thing to Him, but His merciful look is directed to the mourners and the broken-hearted and those who have reverential fear toward His word. Ver. 3. With each form of sacrifice is coupled an offering which was inadmissible afd revolting. The first sacrifice mentioned counts as the slaying of a man,- the offering of a human victim. The dog in the east has ever been regarded as unclean and in that light is coupled with the swine. To offer a dog would be an abomination, and the prophet here does not even honor this abomination by the use of the word sacrifice, but uses the degrading term, “‘breaketh a dog’s neck’’, the peculiar mode of killing a dog. To offer ‘‘an oblation’’, a meal-offering, counts as the offer- ing of swine’s blood, and to burn frankincense counts as blessing an idol. “blesseth an idol’’,—-We see no good reason for not retaining the word “‘idol’’, as does our text (Na. Hit), for certainly this particular mean- ing corresponds better to the context than does the general one of wick- edness, or vanity (Al. Lut. Del.), and as all other secondary phrases refer to worship, it is better to understand it so here. Delitzsch says the chapter starts with an address to the entire body ready to return from exile, and while not prohibiting the building of a temple upon their return says that as Creator of heaven and earth Jehovah needs no house made with men’s hands, and then in verse 3, latter part, LS7, ISAIAH and verse 4 the address distinguishes between the penitent (the godly rem- nant) and those alienated from God (the majority) and rejects all wor- ship and offering at the hand of the latter and threatens them with just retribution. Nagelsbach, on the other hand, asks, ‘““Where is it by a single syllable intimated that verse 3, latter clause, and verse 4 is addressed solely to those estranged from God? If in Chaps. 56 and 60, as Delitzsch maintains, and in our chapter, verses 6 and 20, a temple and sacrificial worship is still spoken of, are we to suppose that the old temple of stone, with its material, bloody offerings, is intended? Even Jeremiah speaks of a time when the ark of the covenant will be no more thought of (Jer. 3.16). The prophet surveys the whole time of salvation from the time of the close of the exile to the age to come in one view, and while he sees a temple and sacrificial worship in this space of time, he declares them both to be insufficient, and he declares most unambiguously that this temple must disappear and give place to a better one. And when this shall have happened, then the prophet sees quite clearly that any animal sacrifice will be an abomination. He who in the Christian Church would present any such sacrifice would thus despise the blood of the Lamb of God. I cannot therefore agree with those who think the passage refers to the man who with a disposition unholy and estranged from God offers an ox, etc. In the time present to the mind of the prophet not only the sacrifice of the ungodly will be a crime, but every sacrifice will be as the offering of a man, dog or sow to God, a heinous crime.” ‘The fact remains that if the address pertained to those of Old Testa- ment times, even after the return from exile, it must have been made to or about the ungodly, whose sacrifices God abhors under any circumstances; but if the address pertains to those of the newer dispensation which the prophet saw coming the address is applicable to every sacrifice regardless of the disposition or character of the man who makes it, and in as much as the prophet seemingly conceives of all of this in one period there is truth in both of the above views, although the more important aspect of it rests with Nagelsbach. Vitringa, and with him agree Alexander and Henderson, applies them to those who still adhered to the old sacrifices after the great sacrifice for sin was come and had been offered once for all, i. e.,*in the new dispen- sation. Gesenius, somewhat after the manner of Delitzsch, thinks they refer to the practice of iniquity in general, which renders any sacrifice hateful to Jehovah. Ver. 4. “TI will also choose’’,—1. e., in harmony with the law of retribution. “their delusions’’,—This word answers to “their own ways’’ of verse 3. God chose these delusions by allowing them in His providence and causing the people to eat the fruit of them. “will bring their fears upon them’’,—1i. e., the things they fear. (PeeALeNa;) Ver. 5. “ye that tremble at His word’’,—The reference here is the same as in verse 2, to the believing portion of Israel. “Your brethren that hate you’’,—Their own brethren, and what 138 ISAIAH aggravated the sin still more was that Jehovah’s name was the ground on which they are hated by them. Barnes and others (V. Al. Ka.) refer the expression to the Jews who hated and taunted the Christians during the early part of the Christian Bepencation: “that cast you out for my name’s sake’’,—‘‘that cast you out’’ of course belongs with what goes before, but Vitringa, Nagelsbach and others connect “‘for my name’s sake’ with what follows, but the majority rightly connect it with what goes before, as in our text, because the Jews would never admit that an Israelite was ever put out of the community for the sake of Jehovah's name. (AI. Del.) “Let Jehovah be glortfied’’,—The mocking words of the persecutors, as if their violence toward you was from zeal for the Lord, i. e., Let Him be glorified by manifesting Himself in your behalf. They regard the hope of the believers as a delusion and the words of the prophet as imagi- nation. Ver. 6. Fausset says that as verse 5 refers to the destruction of the unbelieving Jews, so it is said here that God from Jerusalem and the tem- ple shall take vengeance on the hostile Gentiles, the abrupt language of the verse marking the suddenness with which these foes outside of Jerusalem shall be put to destruction. Delitzsch and others (Ab. Na. Al. Bar.), on the other hand, rightly say that according to the context the enemies here meant are still primarily the God-estranged and yet arrogant mass of the Israelitish nation. Even _ Aben Ezra admits this. “A voice of tumult from the city’”’,— The rejoicing of the Maccabees and their followers when Antiochus Epiphanes evacuated the temple. (Gro.) The preaching of the Gospel by the Apostles beginning at Jerusalem. (Ju. ) A voice calling for vengeance on the Romans. (Jar.) ‘The blasphemies of the heathen. (Aba.) The wail of such wicked Jews who may have gone up to Jerusalem from the exile in hope of worldly advantage and are smitten with divine judgments while there. (Ges. ) The voice is a joyful noise and not to be associated with the voice of Jehovah bringing vengeance (Na.) All these explanations are opposed by the fact that the Hebrew word here used is never applied to a joyful cry or a cry of lamentation, but always to the tumult of war, and the rushing noise of battle. Kimchi says it is the noise of tumult as applied to the destruction of Gog and Magog. Hitzig says it is a description of the general judgment foretold by Joel (Joel 4.2), when all the nations should be judged at Jerusalem. Knobel refers it to the confusion of punishment falling upon the antitheocratic Jews who remained in Babylon and especially upon the Babylonians themselves. Vitringa, Henderson and Alexander apply it to the scenes connected 139 ISAIAH with the destruction of the temple in the days of Herod, the noise being not only that of the Romans in taking Jerusalem (V.), but rather the whole confusion of the siege and conquest. (AlIl.) Delitzsch says, ““The thunder of judgment goes forth from the tem- ple which has risen again, Jehovah’s earthly dwelling place, of which He is again taking possession, followed by the faithful remnant of His people, and thence He renders recompense to His enemies, the God-estranged and yet arrogant mass of the exiles.’’ This is by far the most satisfactory explanation, whatever the passage may further represent by way of typical significance. Ver. 7. While the mass falls a prey to judgment, yet Zion is not left without children. “delivered of a man-child’’,—1i. e., a whole land full of people—a nation. Some take “‘man-child’’ merely in the sense of strength and num- bers, Nagelsbach saying that the male-child is used because male-children are as a rule born harder, being larger, but here it is with apparent ease. ‘Contrast this ease of the future Jewish Church’’, says Fausset, “‘with ay Ne of the Christian Church in bringing forth a man-child (Rev. Vitringa and Alexander say the reference is to the call of the Gentiles. Henderson says the language expresses the sudden and unexpected reproduction of the Jewish nation in their own land in the latter days. Ver. 9. The meaning is, Shall I who have begun, not finish my work of restoring Israel? Ver. 11. Jerusalem is thought of as a mother, and the rich, real comfort which she enjoys as the milk filling her breast, and with which she now richly nourishes her children. Ver. 12. “the glory of the nations’’,—This comprehends all the desirable things in the way of outward blessings which the Gentiles may bring to her. Since “‘ye’’ refers in each case to the faithful Jews, Delitzsch thinks the “‘sides’’ and the “‘knees’’ refer to the Gentiles, who vie with each other in showing them delicate attention, and that therefore the pronoun “‘therr’’ should be used in each case instead of the article “‘the’’. Ver. 14. ‘“‘shall be known toward’’,—1. e., manifested in behalf of. 15 For, behold, Jehovah will come 18 For I know their works and their ‘with fire, and his chariots shall be like thoughts: the time cometh, that I will. the whirlwind; to render his anger with gather all nations and tongues; and they fierceness, and his rebuke with flames of shall come, and shall see my glory. 19 fire. 16 For by fire will Jehovah exe- And I will set a sign among them, and I cute judgment, and by his sword, upon will send such as escape of them unto all flesh; and the slain of Jehovah shall the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, be many. 17 They that sanctify them- that draw the bow, to Tubal and Javan, selves and purify themselves ” *to go unto to the isles afar off, that have not heard the gardens, behind “one in the midst, my fame, neither have seen my glory; eating swine’s flesh, and the abomina- and they shall declare my glory among tion, and the mouse, they shall come to the nations. 20 And they shall bring an end together, saith Jehovah. all your brethren out of all the nations 1Or, in % 2Or, in the 3Or, ome tree (or, Asherah; see Dt. 16.21) 140 ISAIAH for an oblation unto Jehovah, upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon dromedaries, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith Jehovah, as the children of Israel bring their oblation in a clean vessel into the house of Jehovah. 21 And of them also will I take for priests and for Levites, saith Jehovah. 22 For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith Jehovah, so shall your seed and your name remain. 23 And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith Jehovah. 24 And they shall go forth, and look upon the dead bodies of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh. Vers. 15-24. Ver. 15. “with fire’,—Some (Al. Del.) render with the margin, in fire’; Lowth reads “‘as fire’, but our text is quite appropriate, the meaning being the same according to any of the proposed renderings. “to render his anger with fierceness’’,—1i. e., to deal out His wrath with burning (Del.), or to apply His wrath with burning heat (Kn. Ges. ) A GENERAL PICTURE OF THE TIME OF THE END. Ver. 16. “upon all flesh’’,—1i. e., upon all who are the objects of His wrath. The judgment here predicted, says Delitzsch, is a general one and falls not only upon the heathen but upon the mass of unbelieving Jews as well. During this judgment the godly will be hidden away, says Fausset, referring to I Thess. 4.16,17. Henderson applies the text also to the battle of Armageddon in Rev. 16 and 19, and Vitringa admits a reference to this also. Alexander of course applies the judgment here mentioned to the destruction of Jerusalem under the Romans, and says the Apocalyptic prophecies borrow their images from the Old Testament .prophecies, but are not exegetical of them. 7 Ver. 17. This verse refers to idolators whoever they may be and are the same persons doubtless as those in Chap. 65.3,5. “to go unto the garden’’,—The idea is not that they purified them- selves in the gardens, but on their way to the gardens, or in preparation for the gardens where idolatrous services were to be held. “behind one in the midst’’,—The literal is “‘one one tn the midst’. Gesenius reads, “following one in the midst’’,—1. e., a priest who led the rest in performing the sacred rites, and led the idolatrous procession through the garden. Maurer reads, ‘‘following one in the midst’’, i. e., some idol or other, which out of contempt he does not mention. Vitringa says the word, twice mentioned in the text, is the name of a Syrian idol called Adad, the literal meaning of which is “‘one’’, and with him agree Bochart and other learned men of early date. On the ground that the word “‘priest’’ is to be supplied, then the word which means “‘in the midst’’ means in the midst of the crowd—the priest who prescribes the rites stands in their midst and they follow him. __ On the ground either that the word means “‘idol’’, or that the word idol” is to be supplied, the identity of which idol no one can know, the 141 ISAIAH word which means “in the midst’ must refer to the garden—the idol in the midst of the garden. Of the two explanations the former is by far the better. (Kn. Um. Na. Ro. Hit. Del. Ges. Baud. Hend. Beck, Pfeifer, Seinecke.) Some supply the word “‘tree’’ (Bo.) and think of one of the trees behind which they perform their lustrations; while others supply the word “‘pool’’ (Kim.) in which the lustrations are made. All the things mentioned in the following words were forbidden to the Jew. Ver. 18. ‘“‘and they shall come’’,—They will be impelled with enmity against Jerusalem and they shall come, but not without Jehovah's superintendence who makes even evil subservient to His plan. “shall see my glory’’,—Not His glory as manifested in grace (S. Um. Ew. Hahn), but in judgment. (F. Al. Del.) “T will gather all nations’ “s— This includes the apostates of Israel, but it is evident from what follows in the next verse that the nations assem- bled against Jerusalem and perishing themselves in the enterprise are not to be taken as all nations without exception, because in the following verse many nations are mentioned by name who are situated outside the range of these great events. Fausset says these nations shall gather together against Jerusalem, where the ungodly Jews shall perish, the apostate Jews, and then the Lord at last shall fight against those nations for Jerusalem's sake. He then says the survivors shall see Jehovah’s glory. But why confine this to the survivors? Why is it not true of all present? Alexander thinks this is a prediction of the calling of the Gentiles, both to witness the destruction of the apostate Jews and to supply their place in His Church or chosen people. He bases this much upon the fact, as he thinks, that the crimes described in the foregoing verses are those of the apostate Jews and not those of the heathen. But surely this learned expositor is wrong as to this latter proposition. Ver. 19. The tidings of Jehovah are to be carried to the far-off heathen world. Fausset says, Tarshish is Tartessus in Spain in the west; Pul is East Africa and North Africa; Lud is the Lybians of Africa, famous as bowmen; Tubal refers to the Tibarennians in Asia Minor south of the. Caucasus, and Java is the Greeks. The reference seems to be to the entire heathen world, and the prophet mentions only the farthest removed to inti- mate that to all—to the most remote—the joyful message should come.”’ “And I will set a sign among them’’,—The judgment is that which falls primarily upon the heathen, those mentioned in verse 17, to whom the “‘them’’ of this phrase refers, and they are primarily the ones mentioned also in verse 18 as being gathered, together with the apostate Jews. Now most writers are agreed with Gesenius that the “‘sign’: is to be taken in the same sense as that in Ex. 10.1,2, where God is said twice to have placed his signs among the Egyptians, and as these signs were the miraculous plagues, so here the reference must be to some miracle God will work in the midst of those gathered to judgment. Calvin explains, “I make a sign on them”’, i. e., on the elect for their deliverance. But the sign is given to those who are judged and not to those who are saved. 142 ISAIAH Alexander says the sign is the whole display of miraculous power in the beginning of the new dispensation which the Apostles had bestowed upon them. But if there were no other objection to this interpretation it is exposed to the one just mentioned. Fausset says it is ‘‘A banner on a high place to indicate the place of meeting for the dispersed Jewish exiles preparatory to their return to their own land’’; while Gesenius thinks it is the extraordinary confluence itself of the Jews from all parts of the world. But these, too, are open to the objection just mentioned, and besides they commit themselves to the rather unfortunate arrangement of the verses proposed by Alexander where- by in point of time verse 19 is prior, to verse 18, inasmuch as it is by the sign that the nations mentioned in verse 18 are gathered together at Jeru- salem. Hitzig and Knobel consider the sign to be the dreadful miracle of the battle in which Jehovah fights against His enemies with fire and sword and inflicts His judgment upon them in their terrific slaughter. Delitzsch, however, says that if they were to witness the judicial glory of Jehovah, as verse 18 distinctly declares they shall, then if they were to have a sign set on them in that retributive sense it would be more approp- riate for the words, “J will set a sign on them’’ to precede than to fol- low the words, “‘they shall see my glory’’. The sign, therefore, he thinks, consists in the sparing of the remnant—the unexpected, surprising circumstance, considering the great slaughter, that a remnant is spared. (Del. Um. Ew. Seinecke.) But Nagelsbach asks, “‘Is it something so extraordinary and wonderful that individuals should escape from a slaugh- ter, be it every so bloody?” Stier refers the sign to the judgment upon apostate Israel. Nagels- bach says, however, that it seems strange to speak of the sign after the judgment has occurred and they have seen the glory of Jehovah. If, how- ever, we place verse 19 after verse 18 in point of time, as do Alexander and the translator of Nagelsbach, and make verse 19, sign and all, the method by which the nations of verse 18 are gathered, the difficulty in Nagelsbach’s mind must disappear. It would be manifestly absurd to think of the nations in verse 18 being called to their own judgment in which they were to see the glory of God and then at the same time think of “‘those that escape’ from this judgment going out to gather or call these same nations in. The only way therefore to consistently bring verse 19 in before verse 18 as to time is to think of those in verse 17 being apostate Jews who are to be judged, and after the judgment..upon them had fallen, those that escape of them are to go out to the Gentiles of verse 18 and gather them in, not for judg- ment, but for mercy, to take the place of the apostate Jews, and this going ee to them, as Alexander says, is the sign—the Gospel being preached to them. Alexander in his exegesis of verse 18 says the Gentiles were brought in to witness the vengeance of God upon the Jews as well as to take their place. But this, of course, according to his own explanation could not be, because there would then as yet have been no remnant, none of “‘those that escape’ to go out and gather the Gentiles in, as Alexander says they do, because there is no remnant until after the judgment on the apostate Jews has taken place, for the remnant is what is left out of that judgment. Our author must therefore eliminate the idea of the Gentiles being gath- ered in to witness the judgment in order to be consistent with himself. 143, ISAIAH However, this disarrangement of the flow of thought does not appeal to us, and there are reasons other than contextual why those mentioned in verse 17 can hardly refer to the apostate Jews, in as much as they were never guilty after the exile of the abominations mentioned in the verse. It is impossible to tell what the sign is; the best is but conjecture. The translator of Nagelsbach thinks it refers to the Messiah, and Nagels- bach himself comes to pretty much the same conclusion. We are now prepared to say that even though the sign is apparently placed among those upon whom the judgment falls, it does not at all fol- low that the sign is upon them in the sense that that retribution is to fall upon them. Any sign that could be given could be said with propriety to be “among them’’, whether by “‘them’’ is meant those upon whom the judgment falls, or those who escape, or both, which is perhaps the better idea, although the close connection would seem to refer the first “them” of verse 19 to those mentioned in verse 18. Of all the explanations given that of Delitzsch seems to be less open to serious objection. “‘such as escape of them’’,—1i. e., from the judgment previously men- tioned. Alexander says these are the survivors of the Jewish nation upon the destruction of Jerusalem under Titus, the elect for whose sake the days were shortened when all besides them perished. “These were the first preachers of the Gospel. Nagelsbach agrees with Alexander and says the destruction of Jeru- salem by the Romans was the first act in the judgment to which reference is made in the verses before us; because it could not, he says, be the general judgment to which reference is made, because after that there will be no nations to go to. Henderson, on the other hand, says that any reference to the Jews here is “‘violent’’, and that those intended are the Gentiles who shall have been present at, but have not perished in the judgment of the great over- throw in Palestine, and who go as missionaries to all parts of the world. Fausset also says they are the Gentile survivors spared by God. He maintains that other Old Testament passages (Isa. 2.2,3; Micah 5.7; Zech. 14.16-19) represent, not the Jews going as missionaries to the Gen- tiles, but that the Gentiles come up to Jerusalem to learn the ways of the Lord there. Ver. 20. ‘“‘they’’,—Not the messengers of verse 19, who bring back converts to the true religion. [hese come by faith and not by litters and - mules and dromedaries, and besides “‘such as escape’ from the judgment could hardly have furnished all the expense attached to the process men- tioned in this verse. Furthermore the “‘they’’ mentioned here is evi- dently regarded as different from the Israelites who are mentioned in the last part of the verse. The reference is doubtless to the Gentiles mentioned in verse 19 (F, Na. Del:). “your brethren’’,—This doubtless refers not to Gentiles (V. Al. Um. Ew. Ges.), but to the Jews (F. He. Ma. Kn. Na. and his translator, Hit. Hend. ) Ver. 21. “And of them also will I take’’,—4. e., ot the Gentiles. 144 ISAIAH (F. Um. Ew. Ma. Ges. Del. Ros.) It refers to an abrogation of the ancient national distinction. (Compare these same authorities under Chap. 61.5,6.) Kimchi resolves the sentence or its meaning into, “‘I will take of them, i. e., of the Gentiles, for the priests and Levites, as drawers of water and hewers of wood, etc.”’ Hitzig, Knobel and Cheyne refer it to the scattered Jews, who will be brought home. But why should being scattered deprive one of being a priest if he was of the tribe of Levi? The reference is of course to the enjoyment of direct access to God which was formerly enjoyed by the ministers of the temple alone. Vit- ringa refers it to the Christian ministry, to which Gentiles as well as Jews were admitted. He says the words, “I will take of them’’, implies selec- tion of some kind from among the mass and so it is not to be allowed to all believers. His criticism is not, however, well sustained. Since all the priests were Levites, the two may have been mentioned here merely with a view to identify the two classes, both names being given lest either should appear to be excluded. “bring their oblation’’,—This bringing of the Jews by the Gentiles will be regarded by God as a precious, unbloody offering which the Gen- tiles offer unto Him. Ver. 22. This refers to the entire preceding promise including verse 21. The name and seed of Israel, that is, Israel as a nation with the same ancestors and an independent name, is to remain forever. Delitzsch says, ““IThe prophet thus represents to himself the Church of the future on a new earth and under a new heavens, but he is unable to represent the eternal in the form of eternity; he represents it to himself as an unending continuation of temporal history. Ver. 23. “from one Sabbath to another’’,—The Sabbath is there- fore to be perpetually obligatory on earth. “before me’’,—i. e., at Jerusalem, as the next verse certainly shows, The Jewish writers all say that the scene is laid in Jerusalem and the Sep- tuagint actually has the name of Jerusalem inserted in this verse. Henderson remarks that, “‘it is absolutely impossible that all should assemble at Jerusalem’’, but as the scene of the next verse is laid in the environs of Jerusalem, he seems to think the two verses are tantamount to saying that everywhere, all over the world, people will assemble for wor- ship and go out to the environs of Jerusalem and see, etc. Why may it not be that the nations could be there through their representatives? Nagelsbach says, “‘It would have been impossible for the inhabitants of the circumscribed Palestine to have come up to Jerusalem once a month, but in the new conditions in that far off future of the new heavens and the new earth this will be possible for all flesh.”’ Alexander says the verse is merely a prediction of the general diffusion of the true religion with its stated observances and religious forms, and that the prophet, in accordance with his constant practice, speaks of the emancipated Church in language borrowed from the state of bondage. 145 JEREMIAH Ver. 24. “‘they’’,—1i. e., all flesh. “go forth’’,—1, e., to the environs of Jerusalem. South of Jerusa- lem is the valley of Hinnon where a perpetual fire was kept to burn the refuse thrown there. “look upon the dead bodtes’’, etc..—The word denotes a qualified seeing, i. e., with pleasure, or interest,,or satisfaction, or horror, as the case may be. Here it is with horror, says the translator of Nagelsbach. Fausset says it is with satisfaction, and this he says is not inconsistent with true love for them to thus look with satisfaction upon what God has done to the wicked. “the dead bodtes’’, i. e., of these slain by the Lord in that time of great judgment. The neighborhood of Jerusalem becomes the scene of God’ s retribu- tive judgment as predictede in verse 18. Says Delitzsch, ‘“Whereas we are forced to transfer what is set forth in verse 23, in accordance with Zech. 14.16, to the yet unglorified earth of those days; the last part of verse 24, on the other hand, looks like eternal punishment raised above the conditions of temporality. The prophet blends temporal and eternal. ‘This world and the next coalesce to his view; the new creating of the heavens and the earth does not in his view go beyond the horizon of the present life; for the separation of what lies on this side of the gulf of the ‘regeneration’ and what lies beyond it we must look to the New Testament. The latter knows of a new setting up of the present Jerusalem after “‘the times of the Gentiles’ have run their course, and of a glorious temporal restoration of Israel; but it knows also of a worm that dies not and of a fire that is never quenched beyond the history of time.”’ THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH (B. C. 629—B. C. 588) GHAP TER. TVHREE 14 Return, O backsliding children. remember it; neither shall they ‘miss it; saith Jehovah; for I am a husband unto neither “shall it be made any more. 17 you: and I will take you one of a city, At that time they shall call Jerusalem and two of a family, and I will bring the throne of Jehovah; and all the na- you to Zion. 15 And I will give you tions shall be gathered unto it, to the shepherds according to my heart, who name of Jehovah, to Jerusalem: neither shall feed you with knowledge and un- shall they walk any more after thé stub- derstanding. 16 And it shall come to bornness of their evil heart. 18 In those pass, when ye are multiplied and in- days the house of Judah shall walk *with creased in the land, in those days, saith the house of Israel, and they shall come Jehovah, they shall say no more, The together out of the land of the north ark of the covenant of Jehovah; neither to the land that I gave for an inheritance shall it come to mind; neither shall they unto your fathers. 1Or, visit 2Or, shall that be done 3Or, to 146 JEREMIAH Vers. 14-18. PROMISE OF FINAL RESTORATION AND BLESSING TO THE JEWS. Ver. [4 There is no doubt that this verse as well as the whole passage contains an allusion to the final period. “one of a city and two of a family’’,—Though there be but one or two Israelites in a foreign city they shall not be forgotten. All shall be restored. (F. Na. He. Noy. Kim. Ros.) There is another view which explains, ‘‘and even if so few fulfill the conditions of true reform’. (Ei. Ew. Graf.) But this would seem to be a definite statement that only a few would return, and the other explanation is much to be preferred. _, he expressions “city’’ and “‘tribe’”’ intimate quite plainly that the cities and tribes of the heathen are in view. Ver. 15. “‘pastors’’,—Older commentators understand by these pastors, Zerubbabel, Joshua, Ezra and later the Apostles and their suc- cessors, and this is of course the case unless we see in the return under Zerubbabel, and in the Christian Church only the beginnings of the ful- fillment of this promise, all of which will depend upon the view to be taken of the prophecy as a whole. Ver. 16. “‘when ye be multiplied’’,—The Israel of the future is first to become numerous in order to become fitted for the concluding and per- fected revelation of the kingdom. “The ark of the covenant’’,—This will be no more mentioned be- cause the thing itself and every thought of it will have disappeared. Ver. 17. “Jerusalem the throne of the Lord’’,—What the ark had been to Jerusalem, Jerusalem is now to be in relation to all the nations. All Jerusalem is then to be the throne of the Lord. On the one hand this reminds us of Micah 4 but on the other of Rev. 21. “all the nations’,—So also is it in Revelation 21. Ver. 18. Two distinct apostacies, that of Judah and that of Israel, ’ were foretold (verses 8 and 10). ‘There has been of course a developing fulfillment of this prophecy of reunion of the two tribes of Israel in spiritual Israel as God gathers one convert here and another there into His Church, but so far as the nation is concerned the two sections of it have never been united since the Babylonish captivity. The ten tribes are unknown to the present day and the prophet, gaze into the inconceivably distant future as he will, can see no restoration of these tribes. Nagelsbach reminds us that this prophecy was not fulfilled by the return under Zerub- babel and Ezra, because (a) not even the whole of Judah, to say nothing of the whole of Israel, then returned, and (b) not even Judah, to say nothing of the heathen, had then returned to the Lord. He also reminds us that it was not fulfilled by the founding of the Christian Church, be- cause (a) the reunion of Judah and Israel has not yet taken place, the latter being unknown as to their whereabouts, (b) Israel in general has rejected the Lord and refused to enter the Christian Church, and (c) the heathen have not begun to come to the Lord and to the Jerusalem that is above in any such measure as prophesied. It would seem therefore that we must still wait for the complete fulfillment of this prophecy, and that it must be reserved for the final period to bring back the lost tribes of 147 JEREMIAH Israel to the light of salvation, and to effect their restoration together with the tribes of Judah, if a literal as well as a spiritual fulfillment of this prophecy is to be looked for. (Isa. 11.12,13; Ezek. 37,16-22; Hos. 1a ay The prophesied coming together in verse 18 of Judah and Israel seems to be the performance of the command given to them in verse 14. CHAPTER TWELVE 14 Thus saith Jehovah against all mine evil neighbors, that touch the in- heritance which I have caused my people Israel to inherit: Behold, I will pluck them up from off their land, and will pluck up the house of Judah from among them. 15 And it shall come to pass, after that I have plucked them up, I will return and have compassion on them; and I will bring them again, every man to his heritage, and every man to his land. 16 And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, As Jehovah liveth; even as they taught my people to swear by Baal; then shall they be built up in the midst of my people. 17 But if they will not hear, then will I pluck up that nation, pluck- ing up and destroying it, saith Jehovah. Vers. 14-17. Ver. 14. “evil netghbors’’,—This expression refers to the Gentile nations, the Edomites, Moabites, Ammonites, Philistines and Assyrians, nations that were always endeavoring to assault Israel. These nations, as well as Israel, were carried away into exile by Nebuchadnezzar. “T will pluck them up from off their land’’,—The pronoun in this sentence points of course to these heathen nations and the expression is brpphene of their being carried away into exile. “pluck up the house of Judah from among them’ + Keil and Nagels- bach, with most commentators, take this in an evil sense also as referring to the carrying away of Judah into captivity, contending, as they do, that the same word “‘pluck’’ cannot occur in the two corresponding clauses in two different senses. Judah and her neighboring nations, they say, will share the same fate, Judah directly and her neighbors indirectly, because what they did against Judah was done against Judah’s God. ‘The carry- ing away of Judah, they say, involves her liberation from the attacks of her neighbors. Calvin, Fausset and others, however, take the word “pluck” in a favorable sense and say it refers to the Jews who had fled to these nations and were being oppressed by them, the forcible word “pluck” ° being used because the heathen would never willingly give them up. This_ latter is perhaps the better explanation, there being little force in the objec- tion raised by the other authorities quoted. Fausset would have us believe that God is here speaking consolation to the elect remnant among the Jews. The ‘‘them’’ of verse 15 refers to the evil neighbors of verse 14. OBEDIENCE REWARDED BY FINAL UNION IN JEHOVAH. CHAPTER SIXTEEN brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the 14 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that it shall no more be said, As Jehovah liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; 15 but, As Jehovah liveth, that countries whither he had driven them. And I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers. i. a JEREMIAH Vers. 14,15. CONSOLATORY PROMISE OF FUTURE RESTORATION “from the land of the north”’,—It was from the north that the Chal- deans came, and the primary reference is of course here to the restoration from captivity in Babylon. “from all the countries’ ,— Israel was not, save in a very limited sense, gathered from all the countries at the time of the return from Babylon, and while this return is doubtless the one primarily meant, it is perhaps true, as Fausset would have us believe, that ‘‘the return hereafter is the full and final accomplishment contemplated.”’ Campbell Morgan makes here the following interesting remarks, “The restoration is now compared with the deliverance out of Egypt and the assertion is made that marvelous as that exodus was, this final work of God for Israel will so transcend it in majestic power that ‘it shall no more be said, The Lord liveth that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt’. Here again I must ask you to note that the restoration is from a world-wide dispersion and that the ‘land’ is identified beyond peradventure as ‘their land that I gave unto their fathers-—not the United States, not England, nor any land where the Jews may have temporary peace and prosperity, but Palestine. It is impossible to seriously pretend that this prediction has been fulfilled in any sense. Who, for example, ever referred to the return to Palestine under sufferance of a heathen king of less than fifty thousand men of Judah as an ‘event so supremely wonder- ful as to efface by its greater splendor the amazing events of the exodus. The same comparison is repeated in Chap. 23.7,8.” CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE 1 Woe unto the shepherds that de- 5 Behold, the days come, saith Je- stroy and scatter the sheep of my pas- hovah, that I will raise unto David a ture! saith Jehovah. 2 Therefore thus righteous “Branch, and he shall reign as saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, against king and “deal wisely, and shall execute the shepherds that feed my people: Ye — justice and righteousness in the land. have scattered my flock, and driven them 6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and away, and have not visited them;- be- Israel shall dwell safely; and this is his hold, I will visit upon you the evil of name whereby he shall be called: *Jeho- your doings, saith Jehovah. 3 And I vah our righteousness. 7 Therefore, will gather the remnant of my flock out behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, of all the countries whither I have that they shall no more say, As Jehovah driven them, and will bring them again liveth, who brought up the children of to their folds; and they shall be fruitful Israel out of the land of Egypt; 8 but, and multiply. 4 And I will set up shep- As Jehovah liveth, who brought up and herds over them, who shall feed them; who led the seed of the house of Israel and they shall fear no more, nor be dis- out of the north country, and from all mayed, neither shall any be lacking, the countries whither I had driven them. saith Jehovah. And they shall dwell in their own land. 1Or, Shoot Or, Bud 2Or, prosper 3Or, Jehovah is our righteousness Vers. 1-8. “THE FUTURE RESTORATION AND CONVERSION OF ISRAEL. Israel, or the Ten Lost Tribes, were carried away captive into Assyria in B. C. 725. Their captivity was complete in number and time and to ag JEREMIAH this day they have not returned. Judah was carried away captive into Babylon in B. C. 588. It was partial in number and time. They re- turned and remained until finally scattered about A. D. 70. The shepherds mentioned in verses 1 and 2 are the ungodly monarchs on the throne of David who brought ruin to the kingdom and scattered Israel. Ver. 3. In this and the following verses the restoration from Baby- lon is foretold in language which, Fausset and many others say, in its fullness can only apply to the final restoration of both Judah and Israel as set forth in verse 6. “out of all countries’’,—As remarked in Chap. 16.15 Israel was not, save in a very limited sense, gathered out of all countries when they were brought back from Babylon (see also verse 8). Ver. 4. “‘netther shall any be lacking’’,—i. e., none shall be miss- ing or detached from the rest. Neither these words nor those immediately preceding them, “‘they shall fear no more’, have ever yet been fully ful- filled. . Scofield says, ““The restoration here foretold is not to be confounded with the return of the feeble remnant of Judah under Ezra, Nehemiah and Zerubbabel at the end of the seventy years (Jer. 29.10). At His first advent Christ, David’s righteous Branch, did not ‘execute justice and judgment in the earth’, but was crowned with thorns and crucified. Neither was Israel the nation restored, nor did the Jewish people say, “Ihe Lord our Righteousness’. The prophecy is yet to be fulfilled.” Ver. 5. ‘“‘Behold the days come’’,—The phrase does not indicate any progress in time as compared with what precedes. “righteous” ,—He would be righteous in distinction from the un- righteous rulers before Him who were brought into view in the previous chapter. Fausset calls attention to the fact that in the New Testament He is set forth not only as righteous Himself, but as righteousness to us, so that we become the righteousness of God in Him. (Romans 10.3,4; II. Cor. 5.19-21.) This, however, has nothing to do with our passage. “unto David’’,—In fulfillment of the promise made to him. (I Chron. LA Same 7A) “‘Branch’’,—Not precisely a limb of the tree but a shoot or sprout, which springing up from the root becomes itself the tree. “This word, as a rule, has the collective sense, but not necessarily so. It has this sense when used of a plant of the field but this sense does not necessarily obtain when used in its spiritual signification. Graf tries to show that the word is to be taken in its collective sense here but against this are the following facts: 1. Zech. 3.8 calls this same branch a man whose name is Branch. 2. Ezek. 34.23 says, ““And I will set ONE Shepherd over them.” 3. The Jews expected ONE great King. 4, Our verse says he shall reign as ““king’’ and verse 6 says he shall be called ‘‘our righteousness’, and these things cannot be said of a series of kings. Chap. 33.17 does not prove that the branch of David is a collective 150 JEREMIAH grouping together of all David’s future posterity, but only that this one Branch of David shall possess the throne forever. Some think that “branch’’ contradicts “‘shepherds’’, the one being singular and the other plural, and they explain by rendering, ‘‘I will raise up shepherds, then the Messiah; or better shepherds, the chief of whom will be the Messiah.’” But the two promises are not to be joined. First we have the raising up of good shepherds in contrast to the evil shepherds that have destroyed the flock, the people; then the promise, says Keil, is further explained to the effect that these good shepherds shall be raised up to David in the “righteous branch’, that is, in the promised seed of his sons. ‘he good shepherds are summed up in the person of the Messiah, as being comprised therein. In the one Branch of David the people shall have given unto them all the good shepherds needed for their deliverance. Hengstenberg takes shepherds in a generic sense, a generic plural, which does not exclude the possibility of one shepherd being intended. But this will not do in as much as Jeremiah elsewhere presents the prospect of a multiplicity of rulers of the seed of David for the time of the great restora- Hoa. .oece Chap. 33.17;18,22,26.) Ver. 6. Says Fausset, ‘“‘So far are the Jews as yet from having en- joyed the temporal blessings here foretold as the result of the Messiah’s reign, that their lot has been for eighteen centuries worse than ever before. The accomplishment must therefore still be future.”’ “he shall be called Jehovah our righteousness’ ,—Nagelsbach says this refers not to the Branch but to the people Israel, and he appeals to Chap. 33.16 for proof of his opinion. But this passage does not prove his case by any means, although of course grammatically he can support his decision. It is, however, much better with others to take it as referring to ““Branch’’, the Messiah. (K. F. Hit. Cow.) It is hardly sound exegesis to take this expression as a proof of the divinity of Christ, or in the sense that His righteousness becomes ours by substitution or that we are justified in Him through the forgiveness of sins, as did the old commentators. Chap. 33.16, where the same ex- pression is used of Jerusalem, the people, ought to make this plain. The expression is here, as elsewhere, the abbreviation of a sentence and means, “He by whom Jehovah deals righteousness’, 1. e., makes the people right- eous in contrast to what other shepherds had done, and with this Chap. 33.16 corresponds well. Wets./,6. (see Chap. 16.14,15.) Of course there are those also who give a figurative or spiritual inter- pretation to the whole passage, maintaining that the reference in verse 3 is to the great ingathering of the Christian period and to the pastoral work of the Messiah as set forth in verses 5 to 8. ‘The whole is, says Cowles, a magnificent picture of the Messiah’s reign, and the reference in verse 6 is to the kingdom of the Messiah as enlarged by the accession of the Gen- tiles through the work of the Holy Spirit, the true Israel according to Gal. 6.16. There is no question as to the spiritual interpretation being pos- sible; the question is as to whether these prophecies can be taken in a literal sense. If they can, they ought so to be taken. 151 JEREMIAH heart; in the latter days ye shall under- 20 The anger of Jehovah shall not stand it perfectly. return, until he have executed, and till he have performed the intents of his Ver. 20. JEHOVAH’S UNALTERABLE PURPOSE AS TO ISRAEL AND HER ENEMIES. “tn the latter days’’,—This expression refers of course primarily to the days of their Babylonish captivity, but if there is an ultimate scope to the prophecy, as many would have us believe, it is that which points to the Jews in their final dispersion, who shall at last, consider their sin and turn to the Messiah. (Hos. 3.5.) CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR 4 And the word of Jehovah came to this land: and I will build them, unto me, saying, 5 Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel: Like these good figs, so will I regard the captives of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans, for good. 6 For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I[ will bring them again and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up. 7 And I will give them a heart to know me, that I am Jehovah: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God; for they shall return unto me with their whole heart. ‘THE PROMISE OF RESTORATION AND CONVERSION OF ISRAEL. Vers. 4-7. The good figs represent the better classes taken away to Babylon. God sifted the nation and saved the more precious grain for replanting in the land after captivity. When Cyrus told them they could go back, the best men, the men of faith, would more quickly respond. While the primary reference is to the chastening effect of the Babylonish captivity, the language in its fullness, Fausset and others would have us believe, applies to the more complete conversion hereafter of the Jews “with their whole heart’’ (verse 7) through the painful discipline of the present dis- persion. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE This chapter is devoted to the prophecy of the Seventy Years Cap- . tivity. In verse 5 the prophet rzminds the people that the land had been ~ promised to them and to their fathers for ever and ever, but because of their disobedience (verse 7) they were to be carried into the land of the north and there serve the king of Babylon for seventy years. This is one of the clearest and most definite of Jeremiah’s predictions; but his predic- tion of the deliverance which Jehovah was to work out for His people is just as clear and just as definite. At the end of the seventy years redemp- tion was to come to the holy nation along with judgment upon Babylon (verse 12) and all the kingdoms of the then known world (verses 19-26), including Jerusalem and the cities of Judah (verse 18). The seventy years of captivity may be reckoned to begin with the first deportation of Judah to Babylon (B. C. 606), or ‘with the final deportation (B. C. 588). 152 JEREMIAH 29 For, lo, I begin to work evil at Ye shall not be unpunished: for I will the city which is called by my name; call for a sword upon all the inhabi- and should ye be utterly unpunished? tants of the earth. Ver. 29. If Jehovah does not spare His own city (verse 18) should the Gentile nations imagine that there is no judgment for them? “all the inhabitants of the earth’’,—‘‘The scope of this great proph- ecy’’, says Scofield, ‘“‘cannot be limited to the invasion of Nebuchadnezzar. ‘The prophecy leaps to the very end of this age. (See ‘Day of the Lord’, Isa. 2.10-22; Rev. 19.11-21; ‘Armageddon’, Rev. 16.14; 19.11-21.)” While in what follows verse 25 no nation is mentioned by name the limits of the territory to be reached by the judgment are strictly defined by the words, “‘all the tnhabitants of the earth’ (verses 29,30), “‘all flesh’ (verse 31), and “from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth’, and from this it would seem to follow that the prophet here beholds the judicial act of God in its last and highest stage. “He now describes’, says Nagelsbach, “‘the world-judgment, 1. e., the judgment of all nations of the earth absolutely without regard to their greater or lesser importance. [he storm rolls from nation to nation until the whole surface of the earth is covered with the slain. ‘There is no pos- sibility of escaping the day of slaughter though they howl and wallow as it breaks upon them (verses 34,35).” CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE 12 And ye shall call upon me, and Jehovah, and I will *turn again your ye shall go and pray unto me, and I captivity, and I will gather you from will hearken unto you. all the nations, and from all the places 13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, whither I have driven you, saith Jeho- when ye shall search for me with all vah; and I will bring you again unto your heart. the place whence I caused you to be 14 And I will be found of you, saith carried away captive. 1Or, return to Vers. 12-14. ISRAEL TO BE REGATHERED TO HER ORIGINAL INHERI- TANCE. There are those who would have us believe that there is here in verses 12 and 13 a brief renewal of the promise of Deut. 4.29,30, and in verse 14 a brief summary of the promise in Deut. 30.3-5. Notice the similarity of language. There can be no doubt, however, that the promise here looks primarily and specially, as seen by verse 10, to the times of Cyrus and Zerubbabel. CHAPTER THIRTY 1 The word that came to Jeremiah I will cause them to return to the land from Jehovah, saying, 2 Thus speaketh that I gave to their fathers, and they Jehovah, the God of Israel, saying, shall possess it. Write thee all the words that I have 4 And these are the words that spoken unto thee in a book. 3 For, lo, Jehovah spake concerning Israel and the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will concerning Judah. 5 For thus saith ‘turn again the captivity of my people Jehovah: We have heard a voice of Israel and Judah, saith Jehovah; and trembling, *of fear, and not of peace. 1Or, return to 2Or, there is fear, and no peace 153 JEREMIAH 6 Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child: wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness? 7 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it. 8 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith Jehovah of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds; and strangers shall no more make him their bondman; 9 but they shall serve Jehovah their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them. 10 Therefore fear thou not, O Jacob my servant, saith Jehovah; neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be quiet and at ease, and none shall make him afraid. 11 For I am with thee, saith Jehovah, to save thee: for I will make a full end of all the nations whither I have scattered thee, but I will not make a full end of thee; but I will correct thee in “measure, and will in no wise ‘leave thee unpunished. 12 For thus saith Jehovah, Thy hurt is incurable, and thy wound grievous. 13 There is none to plead *thy cause, “that thou mayest be bound up: thou hast no healing medicines. 14 All thy lovers have forgotten thee; they seek thee not: for I have wounded thee with the wound of an enemy, with the chas- tisement of a cruel one, for the ‘great- ness of thine iniquity, because thy sins were increased. 15 Why criest thou ‘for thy hurt? thy pain is incurable: for the greatness of thine iniquity, because thy SHeb. judgment *Or, hold thee guiltless *Or,, thy cause; for thy wound thou hast no medicines nor plaster ®Heb. for closing up, or pressing. sins were increased, I have done these things unto thee. 16 Therefore all they that devour thee shall be devoured; and — all thine adversaries, every one of them, shall go into captivity; and they that despoil thee shall be a spoil, and all that prey upon thee will I give for a prey. 17 For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith Jehovah; because they have called thee an outcast, saying, It is Zion, whom no man “seeketh: after. 18 Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will “turn again the captivity of Jacob’s tents, and have compassion on _ his dwelling-places; and the city shall be builded upon its own “hill, and the palace shall “be inhabited after its own manner. 19 And out of them shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of them that make merry: and I will mul- tiply them, and they shall not be few; I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small. 20 Their children also shall be as aforetime, and their congre- gation shall be established before me; and J will punish all that oppress them. 21 And their prince shall be of them- selves, and their ruler shall proceed from the midst of them; and [| will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach unto me: for who is he that “hath had boldness to approach unto me? saith Jehovah. 22 And ye shall be my peo- ple, and I will be your God. 23 Behold, the tempest of Jehovah, even his wrath, is gone forth, a “sweep- ing tempest: it shall burst upon the head of the wicked. 24 The fierce anger of Jehovah shall not return, until he have executed, and till he have performed the intents of his heart: in the latter days ye shall understand it. °Or, careth for Or, return to “Or, mound Heb. tel. 2Or, remain WHeb. hath been surety for his heart. ‘Or, multitude 8Or, for thy hurt, because thy pain is incur- able? Vers. 1-24. M4Or, gathering ISRAEL IN TRIBULATION AND THE PROMISED DELIV- ERANCE. There are some of course who think this chapter looks primarily to the restoration of the Jews from Babylon and the raising up of the Mes- siah, and while this is doubtless true there can, however, be scarcely any doubt but that it looks on further into the future, as the language plainly indicates, and that whatever restoration was made after the capture of Babylon was but a pledge of the fuller restoration which is yet to take place. Ver. 3. The ten tribes (Israel) are mentioned first because their captivity had been longer. A few of them only returned with Judah, 154 JEREMIAH _and this promise having never been fulfilled must await for its complete fulfillment for the days which are still to come. Ver.5. Jehovah here introduces the Jews asspeaking for themselves. The dark background set forth in this and the following verses only sets off in stronger light the blessings that are to be revealed. This verse and the two following do not refer to the political con- vulsion and calamities of the heathen nations that resulted in the capture of Babylon and the releasing of the Jews, as some think, but to the troubles of the Jews themselves. With regard to verses 5 to 8 Campbell Morgan says, “Exposition is scarcely needed here. “There cannot be two periods of unexampled tribula- tion, and Jeremiah and Jesus, in Matthew, therefore speak of. the same period. [The passages cannot refer to the destruction of Jerusalem for while that was a time of Jewish tribulation the Jews were not saved out of it, but were slain by the thousands and the remnant were carried away into slavery. Neither was the Davidic monarchy restored at that time. Jesus says it is the elect who are in tribulation, and Jeremiah tells us of whom Jesus speaks, namely the elect Jews. It is the time of Jacob’s trou- ble. The period then is yet future.”’ Ver. 6. Nagelsbach says, ‘“The prophet portrays with drastic vivid- ness the effects of the terror by saying that he saw men behaving like women in the pangs of childbirth.” “Ask ye now’’,—i. e., ask anywhere, consult all the authorities; you will not find an instance. Ver. 7. Here the cause of this terror is described. “for that day ts great’’,—The day is the same as that spoken of in verses 5 and 6, and by being “‘great’’ is meant that it is marked by great calamities. (Joel 2.11,31; Amos 5.18; Zeph. 1.14.) Keil has quite properly said, ‘“That day is for Jacob also, that is, for all Israel, a time of distress; for the judgment falls not merely on the heathen nations, but also on the godless members of the covenant people that they may be destroyed from among the congregation of the Lord, but the Israel of God will be delivered.’’ The heathen nations are therefore included in the judgment, which is for both them and Israel, but Israel shall be saved out of it. It is clear therefore that the reference cannot be to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans because this cannot be represented at the same time as a day of deliverance for the Jews. Ver. 8. “in that day’’,—The day when Jacob shall be saved out of his trouble. “his yoke’,—The pronoun “‘his’”’ as well as “‘thy’”’ (thy neck) refers to Jacob, such a change from the third to the second person being quite frequent. God is both speaking about Jacob and addressing him. For- - eigners shall no more make him their servant. After the deliverance from Babylon by Cyrus, Judah did become the servant of Persia, Alexandria, Antiochus Epiphanes and Rome, and therefore the full deliverance, it would seem, must be future. Ver. 9. “David, their king’’,—The reference is no doubt here to the Messiah. The conception of a second David is analogous to that of ivahs) JEREMIAH the second Adam. . The Messiah, it appears, is here called ““David’’ not merely as a descendent of David, but as a real David in the highest sense and crete (See Hos. 3.5.) “whom I will raise up unto them’’,—This refers of course to the days of the Messiah which were to come, and is of course an incontrovert- ible argument that “‘the time of Jacob’s trouble’ looks primarily to a period prior to the appearance of the Messiah. Ver. 10. “‘thy seed’’,—Though you yourselves, by reason of the many years of captivity, may not see the restoration, the promise shall be fulfilled to your seed, ‘‘primarily’’, says Fausset, “‘at the return from Baby- lon and fully at the final restoration.” Ver. 11. “J will not make a full end of thee’’,—Assyria and Chaldea were utterly destroyed, but Israel, after chastisement, was deliv- ered. Ver. 12. “Thy hutt ts tncurable’’,—Her wounds were beyond her own power or that of any human helpers, but not, of course, peyciie the power of God. Ver. 14. “All thy lovers’’,—i. e., the people formerly allied to thee, Egypt, Assyria and other nations with whom she had formerly made for- bidden alliances. Ver. 15. “Why criest thou for thy hurt?’’—She had no right to _ complain and cry because she had brought on this suffering through her own sins., Vera TOs § prefer with Nagelsbach to connect this verse with verse ae aan it may quite as logically be connected with verse 13. (F. K. ow Ver. 18. ‘“‘tents’’,This intimates their present dwelling in Chaldea as temporary only. “have compassion on his dwelling places’’,—This means doubtless that the dwellings that have been destroyed will be restored. “builded upon its own hill’’,—This rendering is much to be pre- ferred, a hill being the usual site foracity. (F.K. Cow.) It also the bet- ter answers the parallel clause, “after its own manner’, 1. e., in the same be- coming way as formerly, than does the rendering of Nagelsbach, “‘upon | its own heap of ruins.”’ “after its own manner’’,—This doubtless means “according to tts right’’ (Deut. 17.11), that is, in accordance with what a palace requires, after its own fashion. Cowles says, ‘““When we cannot find an adequate fulfillment for a prophecy like this in its external and literal application, we are certainly justified in assuming its outlook onward to the better, brighter days of King Messiah.”’ ‘This is certainly true, and ought it not to be held as further true that, if in the days of the Messiah its complete fulfillment did not take place, we are justified in looking for a further fulfillment in the days that are yet to come. The restored city and temple under Zerub- babel never did reach the magnificence of the days of Solomon, and neither was this true of Herod’s temple. 156 JEREMIAH Ver. 20. “Their children also shall be as aforetime’’,—Their chil- dren shall come into settled and precious relations to the Lord their God, enjoying the full blessings of the covenant even as in the days of old. They shall flourish as in the days of David. “their congregation shall be established’’,—They shall no more be shaken or moved from their position. Ver. 21. “shall be of themselves’’,—i. e., be a Jew, and not a foreigner. “That the words “prince’’ and “‘ruler’’ refer to the Messiah there can be no doubt, and they can be applicable to ZeruBbabel only as a type of Christ, the Messiah. “cause him to draw near and he shall approach unto me’’,—God will cause the “‘prince’’ and the “‘ruler’’ (the Messiah) to draw near as the great high priest through whom believers also have access to God. He is called “king” in verse 9, and here he is called “‘prince’’ and “‘ruler’’. His priestly and kingly characters are similarly combined in Ps. 110.4 and Zech. 6.13. He may approach unto Jehovah and in this the mediatorial position of the king is announced. “For’’,—This states the reason why the Lord leads the prince to Himself, i. e., because there is no other who would be capable of entering into this relation of nearness and communion with God. In this last clause some introduce the word “‘otherwise’’, i. e., Who would otherwise, that is, without my special permission, dare commit his heart to approach unto me,—Who would dare such near approach if I had not invited and drawn him? But there is nothing in the Hebrew to represent this word ‘‘otherwise’’, and this alone is fatal to its use. “who ts he’’,By some this is taken in the sense of surprise, astonish- ment, that any sinful mortal should dare such approach; by some as a question of rebuke and repulsion, as if to bid him begone; by some as if the question were one of offended dignity or at least of invaded dignity, inquiring the rank of the intruder who thus presumes to draw near to God. But all this is foreign to the course of the thought and the flow of feeling throughout the chapter. We must, as Cowles says, regard the question as implying on the part of God a joyous welcome to him who thus pledges his heart to draw near unto Him. ‘The question is an emotional one and not a categorical one demanding an answer. Just as the question in Chap. 31.20 does not demand an answer but implies an outburst of parental emotion and gladly welcoming the prodigal home, so here whoever is conceived of as drawing near to God it is evident that God is pleased and gladly welcomes him. The question, Fausset says, implies admiration at one being found competent by reason of his twofold nature, as God and man, for the task. “hath had boldness’’,—The literal Hebrew is, “‘hath been surety for his heart’’. Fausset gives to this a derived meaning such as ‘‘stake’’, ‘‘risk’’, “venture’, and takes the word “‘heart’’ in the sense of “‘life’’, heart being used only as expressive of the courage it takes to undertake such a tremen- dous thing. Nagelsbach thinks this harsh and renders, ‘‘who stands bail for his heart’, as if the prophet wishes to say, ‘“Who can stand for his heart that it approach me?’’ Cowles says the action of the verb termi- nates upon one’s own heart with reference to making approach unto God, hence it would seem that the sense must be “‘to pledge one’s own heart, to 157 JEREMIAH covenant with oneself, solemnly committing and earnestly purposing and endeavoring to approach unto God. Perhaps no better explanation can be found than that given us by Fausset, the answer implied being evidently, no one but the extraordinary person of the Mediator, the Christ, He alone having made His life responsible as the surety in order to gain access not only for Himself but for us. Vers. 23,24. The reference here is as in Chap. 23.19,20, and refers perhaps primarily to the judgment brought on the land and the cities of Judah for their sins through the agency of the Chaldeans, although it must be understood of a judgment extending to Babylon and other heathen nations, the enemies of Israel, as well. It refers of course to all ‘“‘wicked ones’ and in such a way as that the godless members of the covenant people will be excluded from salvation. “a sweeping tempest’’,—The idea is that of the rushing sound of the storm as it carries everything along with it. [he Authorized Version, “continuing’’, gives hardly an appropriate meaning. Hengstenberg connects the verses with what precedes, while Keil con- nects them with the judgment of verse 5 as a resumption, and Ewald con- nects them with the first verse of the following chapter, either of the latter ‘two connections being preferable to that of Hengstenberg, as affording smoother transition. CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE 1 At that time, saith Jehovah, will ple, the remnant of Israel. 8 Behold! I I be the God of all the families of Israel, will bring them from the north coun- and they shall be my people. 2 Thus try, and gather them from the uttermost saith Jehovah, The people that were left parts of the earth, and with them the of the sword *found favor in the wilder- blind and the lame, the woman with ness; even Israel, "when I went to cause child and her that travaileth with child him to rest. 3 Jehovah appeared *of old together: a great company shall they unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee return hither. 9 They shall come with with an everlasting love: therefore *with weeping; and with supplications will I lovingkindness have I drawn thee. 4 lead them: I will ‘cause them to walk Again will I build thee, and thou shalt by rivers of waters, in a straight way be built, O virgin of Israel: again shalt wherein they shall not stumble; for I thou be adorned with thy tabrets, and am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is shalt go forth in the dances of them that my first-born. make merry. 5 Again shalt thou plant 10 Hear the word of Jehovah, O ye vineyards upon the mountains of Sa- nations, and declare it in the isles afar. maria; the planters shall plant, and shall off; and say, he that scattered Israel will "enjoy the fruit thereof. 6 For there gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd shall be a day, that the watchmen upon doth his flock. 11 For Jehovah hath the hills of Ephraim shall cry, Arise ransomed Jacob, and redeemed him from ye, and let us go up to Zion unto Jeho- the hand of him that was stronger than vah our God. he. 12 And they shall come and sing 7 For thus saith Jehovah, Sing with in the height of Zion, and shall, flow gladness for Jacob, and shout ‘for the unto the goodness of Jehovah, to the chief of the nations: publish ye, praise grain, and to the new wine, and to the ye, and say, O Jehovah, save they peo- oil, and to the young of the flock and 10r, have found... whenTI go 7Or, bring them unto *Or, when he went to find him rest 3Or, from afar 4Or, have I continued lovingkindness unto thee 5Heb. profane, or, make common. See Lev. 19.23-25; Dt. 20.6; 30. ®Or, at the head 158 JEREMIAH of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sor- row any more at all. 13 Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old together; for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them re- joice from their sorrow. 14 And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fat- ness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith Jehovah. 15 Thus saith Jehovah: A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her chil- dren; she refuseth to be comforted for her children, because they are not. 16 Thus saith Jehovah: Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears; for thy work shall be rewarded, saith Jehovah; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy. 17 And there is hope for thy latter end, saith Jehovah; and thy children shall come again to their own border. 18 I have surely heard Ephraim, bemoaning him- self thus, Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a calf unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art. Jehovah my God. 19 Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was in- structed, I smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth. 20 Is Ephraim my. dear son? is he a darling child? for as often as I speak against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my heart ‘yearneth for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith Jehovah. 21 Set thee up waymarks, make thee guide-posts; set thy heart toward the highway, even the way by which thou wentest: turn again, O virgin of Israel, turn again to these thy cities. 22 How long wilt thou go hither and thither, O thou backsliding daughter? for Jehovah hath created a new thing in the earth: A woman shall encompass a man. 23 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, Yet again shall they use this speech in the land of Judah and in the cities thereof, when I shall “bring again their captivity: Jehovah bless thee, O habitation of righteousness, O mountain of holiness. 24 And Judah and all the cities thereof shall dwell therein together, the husbandmen, and they that go about with flocks. 25 For I have satiated the weary soul, and every sorrowful soul have I replenished. 26 ®Heb. soundeth ®Or, return to 159 Upon this I awaked, and beheld; and my sleep was sweet unto me. 27 Behold, the days come, saith Jeho- vah, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast. 28 And it shall come to pass that, like as I have watched over them to pluck up and to break down and to overthrow and to destroy and to afflict, so will I watch over them to build and to plant, saith Jehovah. 29 In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge. 30 But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge. 31 Behold, the days come, saith Jeho- vah, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: 32 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; “which my covenant they brake, although I was “a husband unto them, saith Jehovah. 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith Jehovah: I will put my law in their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And they shall teach no more every man his neigh- bor, and every man his brother, saying, Know Jehovah; for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith Jehovah: for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin will I remember no more. 35 Thus saith Jehovah, who giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordi- nances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, who “stirreth up the sea, so that the waves thereof roar; Jehovah of hosts is his name: 36 If these ordinances depart from before me, saith Jehovah, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever. 37 Thus saith Jehovah: If heaven above can be meas- ured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, then will I also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith Jehovah. 38 Behold, the days come, saith Jeho- vah, that the city shall be built to Jeho- vah from the tower of Hananel unto the gate of the corner. 39 And the meas- uring line shall go out further straight onward unto the hill Gareb, and shall WOr, forasmuch as they brake my covenant NQOr, lord over them 12Or, stilleth the sea, when, etc. JEREMIAH turn about unto Goah. 40 And the horse gate toward the east, shall be whole valley of the dead bodies and of holy unto Jehovah; it shall not be the ashes, and all the fields unto the plucked up, nor thrown down any more brook Kidron, unto the corner of the for ever. Vers. 1-40. “THE DECREE OF RESTORATION AND THE NEW COVENANT. \ Ver. 1. “At the same time’’,—i. e., in the time of the latter days. Cowles, who refers the fulfillment of the prophecy to the present dispen- sation, says that it indicates a great enlargement and increase of the visible Church and kingdom of the Messiah. Fausset, of course, calls attention to the fact that the prophecy has never yet been fulfilled. Ver. 2. The prophet devotes more attention to the ten tribes, Israel, evidently because judging from all appearances they seem irrevocably lost forever, rejected of the Lord. “left of the sword’’,—i. e., escaped from the sword of the Chaldeans and were carried captive into the wilderness. By Ewald and others this verse is made to refer to those who were delivered from the captivity of Egypt. But this cannot be. The Ten Tribes did not then obtain a special deliverance; Pharaoh did not oppress them by the sword; Israel was then led through the desert as a whole and not asaremnant. ‘The whole relates to the future as is proven by verses 4 to 6, which verses only particularize what was said in verses 2 and 3, the perfects in verses 2 and 3 being prophetical. “The words “escaped from the sword’ seem unconditionally to require us to refer the passage to the deliverance of Israel from exile. It is of course proper to conceive of the restoration of Israel from exile under the figure of their exodus out of Egypt into the promised land of their fathers, as in Hos. 2.15. “when 1 went to cause him to rest’’,—This is perhaps better trans- lated by Keil, ““‘Let me go to cause him to rest’’.. Nagelsbach renders it, “Up to bring him to rest’, taking it as a command, as it were, from God to Himself. Both of these latter renderings take the words as an expres- sion relating to the future. Ver. 3. Israel gratefully acknowledges God’s favor. “of old’’,—Fausset says that this implies that God does not so appear to her now. We prefer the marginal reading, ‘‘from afar’, implying that the Lord had kept Himself afar off, having almost, as it were, disappeared from their sight. (K. Na. Cow.) Keil says that so long as Israel was. in exile the Lord had apparently withdrawn from them. ‘‘From afar’ probably means from Zion where He was enthroned. “with lovingkindness have I drawn thee’’,—This rendering is a proper one, but we prefer with Keil that of the margin as the better, i. e., “T have continued (drawn out) my loving kindness toward thee.’’ (See Ps. 36.4.) : Ver. 5. “‘Samaria’’,—i. e., the capital of the Ten Tribes. “planters shall plant and shalt enjoy the fruit thereof’’,The render- ing of the Authorized Version is here much to be preferred since it not only gives a far more preferable meaning but adheres strictly to the original language. It shall no longer be that one shall plant and another shall eat the fruit. (See the law about this in Lev. 19.23-25, and see also Isa. 62.8.) 160 JEREMIAH The idea contained in the marginal reading is that the fruits are to - be applied to one’s own use (Deut. 20.6), i. e., common (profane), no longer restricted to holy use as set forth in Lev. 19. Ver. 6. “the hills of Ephraim’’,—This stands for the whole moun- tainous region of the Ten Tribes. “ap to Zion’’,—1i. e., up to the annual feasts as in the days of old. Ver. 7. “the chief of the nations’,—The reference is to Israel. God estimates the greatness of nations not by man’s standard of material resources, but by His electing favor. In this verse the people are urged with prayers and praises to supplicate for the restoration. Ver. 8. “and with them’’, etc.—So universal is the restoration to be that not even the most unfit will be left behind. Ver. 9. “weeping’’,—Tears of joy as well as penitential tears. “Ephraim ts my first-born’’,— (See Exodus 4.22). The designation of Israel as a whole in the Exodus passage is here transferred to Ephraim as the head and representative of the Ten Tribes. ‘There is no trace in this prophecy of any preference given Israel over Judah. We have already seen why Ephraim is mentioned first and at greater length than Judah is mentioned a little later. “The designation “‘first-born’’ here simply shows that Israel is not to be in any sense behind Judah; the love which God displayed toward whole Israel is to be shown toward this disobedient part of Israel, the Ten Tribes. Ver. 10. Even heathen nations afar off will have their attention arrested by this wonderful happening to Israel, and even they must pro- claim God’s willingness to redeem graciously His people. Ver. 12. ‘“‘to the goodness of the Lord’’,—i. e., to the Lord as the source of all good things. Ver. 14. “satiate with fatness’’,—The reference is to the fat pieces of the thank-offering, because numerous offerings will be made to the Lord in consequence of the blessings received from Him, Ver. 15. Rachel, who so loved her children, is represented as lifting her maternal head from the tomb and looking around on the wild waste of ruin and sees none of her children in their native land. Nagelsbach says the voice of Rachel is heard in Ramah because her tomb is there, but makes it the Ramah five miles north of Jerusalem. But Gen. 35.16 says Rachel was buried south of Jerusalem and near Bethlehem. Delitzsch says that Rachel’s weeping is heard in Ramah, not because her tomb is in that neighborhood but because according to Jer. 40.1 the exiles were assembled there by Nebuchadnezzar before transportation into exile. But Keil rightly objects to this view because it was Jews who were assembled there and were from there to be carried away captive, whereas it was over Israelites or Ephraimites that had been carried away that Rachel weeps. Samuel lived in Ramah, five miles north of Jerusalem, not far from Gibeah. (I Sam. 7.17.) All attempts to fix the tomb of Rachel at Ramah north of Jerusalem are groundless. If then she was buried near Bethlehem it was far away from Ramah, there being no Ramah near Bethlehem. 161 JEREMIAH Keil says, and we feel rightly, that the weeping is heard at Ramah as the most northernly situated border town of the two kingdoms, whence the wailing that had arisen sounded far and near, and could be heard in Judah. She weeps as their common mother. As the people are often included under the notion of “‘the daughter of Zton’’ as their ideal representative, so here the great ancestress of Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh is named as the representative of the maternal love shown by Israel in the pain felt when the people are lost, the mother of the ruling tribe, Ephraim, appear- ing thus as the personification of the kingdom ruled by it. This verse is quoted by Matthew after relating the story of the mas- sacre of the children at Bethlehem. From this we can hardly conclude, as did the older theologians, that Jeremiah directly prophesied that event, be- cause it will not fit in with the context of the prophecy. ‘The expression used by Matthew only shows that the prophecy of Jeremiah received a new fulfillment through the act of Herod. Ver. 16. “thy work shall be rewarded’’,—1. e., thy parental weep- ing for thy children; all the pain and grief which thou hast borne and all thy toiling in love for Zion shall not go unrewarded; thy grief shall not be perpetual because thy children, the exiles, shall return. Ver. 17. ‘“‘there ts hope for thy latter end’’,—1i. e., all thy calamities shall have a prosperous issue. Ver. 18. ‘“‘Thou hast chastised me and I was chastised’’,——The first refers to the chastisement itself and the second to the beneficial effects of this chastisement. “as a calf unaccustomed to the yoke’’,—-As one therefore needing the goad. Fausset says that when Israel is restored, which as yet she has not been, she will confess that the chastisement was for her good. Ver. 19. “‘smote upon thy thigh’’ ,—1. e., as a sign of mourning, of terror and horror, of grief and indignation against oneself. (Ezek. 21.17.) Ver. 20. To the question Fausset says a negative reply was to be expected, i. e., No, to judge from the way he has acted and lived. And yet God so regards him, and on Ephraim’s being turned to God he is so welcomed. The question does not really call for an answer. It is, as Cowles says, the outburst and overflow of strong emotion. It seems almost like an expression of God’s surprise at Himself for so considering . Ephraim after all his sin. (Na. Ma. Ros. Cow.) “speak against him’’,—i. e., threaten him on account of his idolatry. Ver. 21. Waymarks and guide posts and heaps of stones to guide their way through the desert on their return. “to these thy cittes’’,—The words “‘these’’ shows that the author has his point of view in Palestine and not in the land of captivity,—the sum- mons issues from the homeland. Ver. 22. “go hither and thither’’,—i. e., after human help. “A woman shall encompass a man’’,—The Christian Fathers almost unanimously interpreted this of the Virgin Mary compassing Christ. A number of arguments are presented favoring this view but none of them 162 JEREMIAH are very strong, while there are objections which are fatal to this inter- pretation. The new arrangement on earth, whatever it may be, is men- tioned as a motive which should rouse Ephraim to return without delay to the Lord and to His cities. This should be borne in mind in trying to explain the meaning of this strange sentence. Therefore the following will not do: 1. hose who formerly behaved like women shall be men. (Lut.) 2. A woman shall change intoa man. (Ew.) 3. The woman shall protect the man. (Ros. Ma. Ges.) 4. The woman shall turn the man to herself. (Na.) None of these four interpretations furnish the motive mentioned and none of them can be lexically sustained because the word “‘encompass”’ does not bear the meanings thus given to it; nor can any of them with much propriety be called a new creative act or a new arrangement of things. 5. A fifth and very commendable interpretation is that of Keil, who thinks the word “‘encompass’”’ is better rendered ‘‘embrace,’’ and who trans- lates as follows, ‘“A woman shall embrace a man’’, the woman being the virgin Israel and the man being Jehovah. Hitzig renders, ‘‘make suit to a man’’, while Cowles retains the word “‘encompass’’, but all three of these authorities rightly perceive that the general idea has been set forth with special reference to the relation between the woman, Israel, and the man, Jehovah, and their interpretations are practically one and the same thing. There is a change of relations between the Lord and Israel. “The word means to compass with love and care, to lovingly embrace, the natural and ' fitting dealing on the part of the stronger to the weak and those who need assistance, and now the new thing that God creates consists in this, that the woman, the weaker nature, that needs help, will lovingly and solici- tously surround the man, the stronger. God deals so condescendingly toward weak Israel that she can lovingly embrace Him. It is a new thing fora woman to wooaman. ‘The word “encompass’’ means to go around about and the idea is that of soliciting the hand, wooing the heart, seeking the love of her rightful Lord. Ver. 23. Here the prophecy turns to Judah and conceives of her as coming back from her captivity. Jerusalem was again to be the habi- tation of righteousness, and Zion will again be the seat of the Divine King. Ver. 26. These words refer not to the people languishing in exile (Jer.), nor to God (Um. Ros. Mic.), such a thing as sleep being inap- propriate as referred to God. ‘They refer to the prophet. - (K. F. Na. Hit. Cow. Hen. Kim. ) Ver. 29. Nagelsbach explains, ‘“The fathers have begun to eat sour grapes, but not until the teeth of the children have become blunted by them’’, the meaning being that the punishment does not always come im- mediately upon the first who are guilty, but upon those of the second, third and fourth generations. But the change of tense in the verbs is against this, the first being perfect and the second imperfect, and this shows that the blunting of the children’s teeth is set down as the result of the fathers’ eating. The proverb means that the children atone for the mis- deeds of their fathers. Why shall they no more say this? 163 JEREMIAH 1. Because they will have no more occasion to say it. (K. Hit. Cow.) The children born in exile of their exiled parents complained doubtless that they were suffering for the sins of their fathers. It is true that during the season of exile the nation did suffer the retributions that had been accumulating for ages. The follow- ing verse would seem to favor this view of the matter. 2. Because they will no longer be disposed to thus reflect upon the government of God, as in that wicked proverb, but they will per- ceive that every one has to suffer for his own guilt. (Graf.) But the proverb is not a wicked one; it is true. 3. Because after the re-establishment of Israel, the Lord will make known to His people His grace in so glorious a manner that the favored ones will perceive the righteousness of His government and His judgments. (K.) Ver. 30. This verse unquestionably contains the opposite of verse 29. It does not, however, says Keil, contain a judgment expressed by the prophet in opposition to that of his contemporaries, but it simply de- clares that the opinion contained in that current proverb shall no longer be accepted then, but the favored people will recognize in the death of the sinner the punishment due them for their own sins. Ver. 31. “‘a new covenant’’,—1i. e., as compared with the old one made with their fathers at Sinai when the people were led out of Egypt. “The remaining verses of this chapter’, says Cowles, ‘“‘have but one theme—the richer spiritual blessings of the Gospel age.”’ Ver. 33. “‘after those days’’,—Keil thinks the inexact expression “after’’ owes its origin to the idea contained in the phrase, “in the end of the days’. The days meant are the coming days. Fausset says, ““With ‘the remnant according to the election of grace’ in Israel the new covenant has already taken effect, but with regard to the whole nation its realization is reserved for the last days, to which Paul refers this prophecy in an abridged form in Romans 11.27.” Ver. 34. This verse does not contain a prohibition but a prediction. Why is this prediction to be true? Is it because knowledge will be so universal that there is no longer occasion for teaching? The words, “‘all shall know me’’, would seem sotoimply. Yet the connection with the previous verse, which makes the ~ teaching of the Spirit so prominent, would seem to indicate another reason, suggesting that far less teaching is left for man to do under the new cove- nant than under the old covenant. The words therefore do not mean that, “‘the office of the teacher must cease’ (Hit.), but merely that the knowledge of God will, under the new covenant, be no longer dependent upon the communication and instruction of man. The Holy Spirit is a teacher so glorious as to eclipse all human agencies. ‘The statement of the verse is comparative rather than absolute. Ver. 36. ‘“‘these ordinances’’,—1i. e., the established arrangements. Though Israel’s national polity has been broken up they are still reserved as a distinct people though scattered among the nations of the world for twenty centuries. Cowles insists that we must look beyond 164 JEREMIAH the outward Israel for the fulfillment of this prophecy to the spiritual Israel, the sanctified people of the living God, while others, conceding the view of Cowles as one proper form of interpretation, contend that there is yet to be an outward and literal fulfillment in the days that are yet to come. Ver. 37. The measuring of the heavens and the searching out of the foundations of the earth are set forth as things impossible to be done and adduced to show that this casting off of Israel can never be. Vers. 38-40. The measuring starts from the well-known “tower of Hananel’’ in the northwest quarter of the city, runs to the northwest corner gate, then includes Gareb, the hill of the leprous outside of the city on the northwest, then to the hill of Goah, the place of capital punish- ment; then finally the whole valley of the son of Hinnom, including Tophet defiled by the accumulated filth of the city with its worms and ever-burning fires. All these defiled places are to be embraced in the city and are to be made thoroughly clean and holy before the Lord. By some the hill of Goah is supposed to be identical with Golgotha (V. Hen.), but by others (Hit. Fur.) it is taken as the projecting rock of the castle of Antonia on the southwest corner. It can hardly be identi- fied as Golgotha because the latter was north or northwest of the city and the line was running down toward the southwest, while furthermore lexical considerations are against so taking it. Says Keil, and with him agrees Cowles, ‘“The prophecy does not refer to the building of Jerusalem after the exile, but to the erection of a more spiritual kingdom of God in the Messianic age—the prophecy reaches on to the time when the kingdom of God shall have been perfected—it con- tains under an Old Testament dress the outlines of the image of the heavenly Jerusalem which John saw on Patmos in its full glory.” CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO 36 And now therefore thus saith will put my fear in their hearts, that Jehovah, the God of Israel, concerning they may not depart from me. 41 Yea, Se ee gees EE Tein oiven I will rejoice over them to do them yeas y Y 8 good, and [I will plant them in this into the hand of the king of Babylon land ‘assuredly with my whole heart by the sword, and by the famine, and and with my whole soul. 42 For by the pestilence: 37 Behold, I will thus saith Jehovah: Like as I have : ; brought all this great evil upon this gather them out of all the countries, beoplensomrill cbrincenpen ahem all whither I have driven them in mine the good that I have promised them. anger, and in my wrath, and in great 43 And fields shall be bought in this indignation; and I will bring them land, whereof ye say, It is desolate, again unto this place, and I will cause ealpeamen ee Seah ais eiyen ane them to dwell safely. 38 And they shall buy fields for money, and sub- shall be my people, and I will be their scribe the deeds, and seal them, and call God: 39 and I will give them one heart witnesses, in the land of Benjamin, and and one way, that they may fear me in the places about Jerusalem, and in the for ever, for the good of them, and of cities of Judah, and in the cities of the their children after them: 40 and I will hill-country, and in the cities of the make an everlasting covenant with them, lowland, and in the cities of the South: that I will not turn away from fol- for I will cause their captivity to re- lowing them, to do them good; and I turn, saith Jehovah. 4Heb. ix truth 165 JEREMIAH Vers. 36-44. JURTHER PROPHECY OF ISRAEL’S RETURN AND RESTOR- ATION. Ver. 36. “Therefore thus saith the Lord’’,—These words corre- spond to the same words in verse 28. ‘‘Therefore’’,—i. e., because noth- ing is too hard for the Lord. He is now drawing the second inference from the fact that nothing is too hard for Him to accomplish. Fausset would render, ‘“‘Now nevertheless’’ without seeking connection with the “therefore’’ of verse 28. This is permissible, although the former con- struction appears to be the better one. Ver. 37. This prophecy has never received as yet but meager ful- fillment, and while some look solely to the Gospel age for their fulfillment, others believe the words look on to the last days, to the kingdom-age which is to follow, though accepting of course as a possible interpretation the view which finds their fulfillment in the Gospel age. Ver. 40. “they may not depart from me’’,—Fausset says this has never yet been fully realized as to the Israelites. Ver. 41. “assuredly with my whole heart’’,—The first planting was imperfect as was the first covenant because it was only hypothetical and because the Lord knew the condition would not be kept and He could not therefore be in it with His whole heart. Now He knows, for He Himself has promised (verse 40) that the condition will be fulfilled; therefore He can designate the planting as done “‘assuredly”’ (‘‘in truth’’—- margin), without the reservation that it is only for a short time, and also as one which He performs with a whole and an undivided heart. Ver. 42. The restoration from Babylon was only a slight fore- taste, says Fausset, of the grace to be expected by Israel at last through Christ. CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE 1 Moreover the word of Jehovah it “health and cure, and I will cure came unto Jeremiah the second time, them; and [ will reveal unto them while he was yet shut up in the court abundance of peace and truth. 7 And I of the guard, saying, 2 Thus saith Je- will cause the captivity of Judah and hovah that doeth it, Jehovah that form- the captivity of Israel to return, and eth it to establish it; Jehovah is his will build them, as at the first. 8 And name: 3 Call unto me, and I will an- I will cleanse them from all their in- swer thee, and will show thee great iquity, whereby they have sinned against things, and ‘difficult, which thou know- me; and I will pardon all their iniqui- est not. 4 For thus saith Jehovah, the ties, whereby they have sinned against God of Israel, concerning the houses me, and whereby they have transgressed of this city, and concerning the houses against me. 9 And this city shall be of the kings of Judah, which are broken to me for a name of joy, for z+praise down to make a defence against the and for a glory, before all the nations mounds and against the swords; 5 while of the earth, which shall hear all the men come to fight with the Chaldeans, good that I do unto them, and shall and to fill them with the dead bodies fear and tremble for all the good and of men, whom I have slain in mine for all the peace that I procure unto it. anger and in my wrath, and for all 10 Thus saith Jehovah: Yet again whose wickedness I have hid my face there shall be heard in this place, where- from this city: 6 Behold, I will bring of ye say, It is waste, without man 1Heb. fortified *Heb. a bandage 166 JEREMIAH and without beast, even in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, that are desolate, without man and with- out inhabitant and without beast, 11 the voice of joy and the voice of glad- ness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that say, Give thanks to Jehovah of hosts, for Jehovah is good, for his lov- ingkindness endureth for ever; and of them that bring sacrifices of thanksgiv- ing into the house of Jehovah. For I will cause the captivity of the land to return as at the first, saith Jehovah. 12 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Yet again shall there be in this place, which is waste, without man and with- out beast, and in all the cities thereof, a habitation of shepherds causing their flocks to lie down. 13 In the cities of the hill-country, in the cities of the low- land, in the cities of the South, and in the land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, shall the flocks again pass under the hands of him that numbereth them, | saith Jehovah. 14 Behold, the days come, saith Jeho- vah, that I will perform that good word which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and concerning the house of Judah. 15 In those days, and at that time, will I cause a Branch of right- eousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute justice and righteous- ness in the land.’ 16 In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely; and this is the name whereby she shall be called: Jehovah our Vers. 1-26. N CFT D. righteousness. 17 For thus saith Jeho- vah: *David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel; 18 neither shall the priests the Levites want a man before me to offer burnt-offerings, and to burn meal-offer- ings, and to do sacrifice continually. 19 And the word of Jehovah came unto Jeremiah, saying, 20 Thus saith Jehovah: If ye can break my covenant of the day, and my covenant of the night, so that there shall not be day and night in their season; 21 then may also my covenant be broken with David my servant, that he shall not have a son to reign upon his throne; and with the Levites the priests, my ministers. 22 As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured; so will I multiply the seed of David my servant, and the Levites that minister unto me. 23 And the word of Jehovah came to Jeremiah, saying, 24 Considerest thou not what this people have spoken, saying, The two families which Jeho- vah did choose, he hath cast them off? thus do they despise my people, that they should be no more a nation before them. 25 Thus saith Jehovah: If my covenant of day and night stand not, if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth; 26 then will I also cast away the seed of Jacob, and of David my servant, so that I will not take of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: for I will *cause their captivity to return, and will have mercy on them. SHeb. There shall not be cut of from David. 4Or, return to their captivity FURTHER PROMISE OF JSRAEL’S GLORIOUS FUTURE. “Jehovah ts His name’’,—In the name lies the guarantee of His action. The Lord not only has power to carry out His thoughts but He completes what He has spoken and determined on. Ver. 3. This verse is probably addressed to Jeremiah though some think it addressed to Israel. It is a call to pray for that which the Lord has determined to grant, i. e., the restoration. (F. Na.) “difficult’’,—The Hebrew means “‘inaccessible’’, incredible—hard to man’s understanding, namely the restoration of the Jews, an event despaired of. “which thou knowest not’’,—God had revealed this thing to Jere- miah, but the unbelief of the people in rejecting the grace of God had caused him to forget God’s promise, as though the case of the people ad- mitted of no remedy. Ver. 4. “‘agatnst the mounds’’,—It is not that the houses are broken down by the missiles of destruction hurled from these mounds, as Fausset 167 JEREMIAH thinks; the houses are pulled down, according to Isa. 22.10, in order to fortify the walls of the city in defense against the attacks from these mounds of the besiegers. [he houses of kings are mentioned along with others to show that no house is spared to defend the city. Ver. 5. The Jewish soldiers go to fight with the Chaldeans but only to fill the houses with their own slain. (K. F. Cow.) The word “them” is a bit troublesome, inasmuch as the houses already thrown down cannot be filled and of other houses no mention has been made, unless the reference be to the houses before they have been thrown down. Changing the word “‘Chaldeans’’ to ‘‘Jerusalem’’ and making the mounds and ath sword the subject of ‘““come’’, as Nagelsbach does, is hardly per- missible, Ver. 7. Fausset reminds us that the specification of both Judah and Israel can only apply fully to the future restoration. “as at the first’’,—(Isa. 1.26. See also verse 11 of this chapter. ) Ver. 9. “it” refers to the city of Jerusalem, “‘them’’ to its inhabi- tants, and “‘they’’ to the Gentiles. (K. F. Na. Cow.) “fear and tremble’’,—It is the idea of wholesome fear that is here most strongly set forth. The ungodly shall tremble for fear of God’s judgment on them, and the penitent shall reverentially fear and turn to the Lord. ‘That this latter thought is the predominating one is set forth in the fact that Jerusalem is to be a “joy’’ unto all the nations when they hear of what the Lord has done for it. Ver. 13. “pass under the hands of him that numbereth them’ ,— The usual mode of counting the flocks. The fact that they must be num- bered speaks therefore of multitudes. . Ver. 14. The promise of verses 14 to 16 has already been given in Chap. 23.5,6, where see remarks. “that good word’’,—(See Deut. 28.1-14). This verse forms a transition from the promise of the restoration and blessings of Israel in the future to the special promise of the renewal and completion of the Davidic monarchy; the blessing promised to the people in the ‘‘good word’’ culminates in the promise (verse 15) that the Lord will cause a righteous spout to spring up for David. Ver. 16. “Jehovah our righteousness’’,—The righteousness which the Messiah works in and on Jerusalem may, without changing the sub- stance of the thought, be attributed to Jerusalem herself inasmuch as she reflects this righteousness bestowed upon her. ‘This name in Chap. 23.5,6 is given to the sprout of David, and the transference of it to the city of Jerusalem is connected with the fact that the name only expresses what the Messiah is to the people. Ver. 17. This prediction does not preclude a temporary interrup- tion, and has been fulfilled in Christ, the Messiah. Ver. 18. Hebrews say this priesthood is to give way to a higher one. Nagelsbach says, ‘Though lost in its outward, temporal and local form, it was really afterwards established in its ideal character.’’ Fausset 168 JEREMIAH _ says, ‘‘Messiah’s literal priesthood (Heb. 7.17,21,25-28) and His follow- ers’ spiritual priesthood and sacrifices (Rom. 12,1; 15.16; I Pet. 2.5,9; Rev. 1.6) shall never cease, according to the covenant with Levi, broken BY 5m) priests, but fulfilled in the Messiah (Num. 25.12,13; Mal. IO) Keil says, ““The prophecy which follows shows clearly that the restor- ation spoken of will not be a reinstitution of the old form which was then perishing but a renovation of it, in its essential features, to a permanent existence.” Ver. 20. “of the day’’,—Better rendered, ‘‘with the day’’, and so “with the night’, answering to the covenant with David. “The kingdom and the priesthood is to flourish in the Messiah, says Fausset, when the whole nation shall temporarily and spiritually prosper. Ver. 22. ‘“‘as the hosts of heaven. ..the sands of the sea’’,—Jahn remarks that this would be a burden on the people if there is to be an un- limited increase of the royal and priestly posterity. But Exodus 19.6 says, ‘Israel shall be a kingdom of priests’, and Isaiah 61.6 says, “‘ye shall be named the priests of Jehovah and men shall call you the ministers of our God.’ ‘The priestly and royal character of the whole people is referred to, and this is only to be realized, says Nagelsbach, as the whole of regenerated humanity is included. Vers. 24-26. The same promise is here repeated, especially to rebut the unbelieving cavils of some among the people. By saying what they did, they despised the Lord’s people and insulted the Lord Himself by assuming that His promises were worthless. The “two families’ are of course Judah and Israel, and it is hardly worth while to rebut the view of Hitzig that “this people’ refers to foreign nations. CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE 7 Moreover he put out Zedekiah’s eyes and bound him with chains, to catry him to Babylon. Ver. 7. THE BEGINNING OF THE TIMES OF THE GENTILES. At this date began “‘the times of the Gentiles’, from which time on Jerusalem has been ‘‘trodden down of the Gentiles’, and this has been true from the time of. Nebuchadnezzar even until this day. Jerusalem has been during all this time under Gentile rule and dominion. CHAPTER FORTY-SIX 1 The word of Jehovah which came quiet and at ease, and none shall make bh th het concerning the him afraid. 28 Fear not thou, O Jacob es ANd No alee Samm my servant, saith Jehovah; for I am ee: : with thee: for I will make a full end of 27 But fear not thou, O Jacob my all the nations whither I have driven servant, neither be dismayed, O Israel: thee; but I will not make a full end of for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thee, but I will correct thee in *measure, thy seed from the land of their captiv- and will in no wise “leave thee unpun- ity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be ished. Heb. judgment 2Or, hold thee guiltless 169 JEREMIAH Vers. 1,27,28. "THE JUDGMENT OF THE GENTILES AND THE DE- LIVERANCE OF ISRAEL. Ver. 1. “concerning the nations’’,—Scofield calls attention to the fact that we are to distinguish between a near and a far fulfillment of these prophecies against the Gentiles. The near vision, as seen in verse 2, is‘of a Babylonish invasion of Egypt, but verses 27 and 28 look forward to the judgment of the nations after Armageddon (Matt. 25.32), and the deliverance of Israel. On verses 27 and 28 see Chap. 30.10,11, from which place they are here repeated. CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT 46 Woe unto thee, O Moab! the 47 Yet will I ‘bring back the cap- people of Chemosh is undone; for thy tivity of Moab in the latter days, saith , sons are taken away captive, and thy Jehovah. ‘Thus far is the judgment of daughters into captivity. Moab. 10r, return to Vers. 46,47. “THE CONVERSION OF THE HEATHEN IN THE FINAL PERIOD. Ver. 46. This verse is copied from Numbers 21.29, and in the verse which follows restoration is promised for the sake of righteous Lot, their progenitor. Ver. 47. In verse 42 it is said that Moab shall be destroyed. The fact seems to be that under the Chaldean army, shortly after Jeremiah wrote, Moab suffered severely, yet she rallied again and was prosperous in the age of Josephus; but its nationality has long since ceased. Gospel blessings, temporal and spiritual, to the Gentiles in the last days are intended. “in the latter days’’,—1. e., at the end of the days, in Messianic times there is in store for them a turn in their fortunes. Similar promises are made for Egypt (Chap. 46.26), and for Ammon and Elam, in Chap. 49.6 and 39. CHAPTER FORT Y-NINE Vers. 6,39. (See remarks under Chap. 48.47.) There was but partial fulfillment under Cyrus of these promises, but they were to have a more complete fulfillment in Gospel times. CHAPTER. FIFI 4 In those days, and in that time, 6 My people have been lost. sheep: saith Jehovah, the children of Israel their shepherds have caused them to go . astray; they have turned them away on shall come, they and the children of the ‘mountains: they have gone from Judah together; they shall go on their mountain to hill; they have forgotten way weeping, and shall seek Jehovah their resting-place. 7 All that found their God. 5 They shall inquire con- them have devoured them; and their ad- cerning Zion with their faces *thither- versaries said, We are not guilty, be- ward, saying, Come ye, and “join your- cause they have sinned against Jehovah, selves to Jehovah in an_ everlasting the habitation of righteousness, even Je- covenant that shall not be forgotten. hovah, the hope of their fathers. 1Or, hitherward 2Or, they shall join themselves 170 JEREMIAH 19 And I will bring Israel again to his *pasture, and he shall feed on Car- mel and Bashan, and his soul shall be satisfied upon the hills of Ephraim and in Gilead. 20 In those days, and in that time, saith Jehovah, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not 33 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts; The children of Israel and the children of Judah are oppressed together; and all that took them captive hold them fast; they refuse to let them go. 34 Their Redeemer is strong; Jeho- vah of hosts is his name; he will thor- oughly plead their cause, that he may give rest to the earth, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon. be found: for I will pardon them whom [I leave as a remnant. 8Or, fold Vers. 4-7,19,20,33,34. “THE CHOSEN PEOPLE RESTORED AND UNITED IN ETERNAL COVENANT WITH THEIR GOD. Ver. 4. “In those days and tn that time’’,—1i. e., the time coincident with the fall of Babylon. “they shall go on their way weeping’’,—Weeping doubtless with joy at their restoration and with sorrow at the remembrance of their sins and sufferings. FPausset reminds us that this prophecy was fulfilled in part when some few of the Ten Tribes of Israel joined with Judah in a covenant with God at the restoration of Judah to its land, but that the full event is yet to pamteme chap 31.9 bios: 1311s"Zech. 1251.07) Ver. 5. “thitherward’’,—The Hebrew is ‘‘hitherward’’, Jeremiah’s prophetic standpoint being at Zion. Ver. 6. “they have gone from mountain to hill’’,—These words have no meaning unless they are understood of the idolatrous dealings of Israel, the mountains and hills being those on which they sacrificed to idols. “their resting place’,—This is, according to verse 7, Jehovah the hope of their fathers. Ver. 19. Carmel and Bashan were the most fertile tracts of the country and the mountains of Ephraim and Gilead furnished fodder in abundance for the sheep. Ver. 20. Fausset says the mention of Israel as well as Judah shows that the full reference is to times yet to come. “and there shall be.none... and they shall not be found’’,—God’s promise to grant pardon points to the time of the new covenant. God for Christ’s sake will count them innocent. The reference is to Messianic times and the sin and iniquity refers not to idolatry but to the rejection of the Messiah, and of this it is predicted that they shall not be guilty in those days, though thus guilty now. Ver. 33. He anticipates an objection in order to answer it, i. e., ye _ have been no doubt oppressed and therefore ye despair of deliverance; but remember your Redeemer is strong and therefore can and will deliver you. Ver. 34. pressor. “strong’’,—1i. e., as opposed to the power of Israel’s op- “thoroughly plead their cause’’,—God, as their advocate, delivers His people not by mere might but by righteousness, i biel EZBRIBG ‘THE BOOK OF EZEKIEL (B. C. 595—B. C. 574) CHAPTER ELEVEN 17 Therefore say, Thus saith the new spirit within you; and I will take Lord Jehovah: I will gather you from the stony heart out of their flesh, and the peoples, and assemble you out of the will give them a heart of flesh; 20 that = fe they may walk in my statutes, and keep countries where ye have been scattered, mine ordinances, and do them: and they and I will give you the land of Israel. shall be my people, and I will be their 18 And they shall come thither, and God. 21 But as for them whose heart they shall take away all the detestable walketh after the heart of their detest- things thereof and all the abominations able things and their abominations, I thereof from thence. 19 And I will will bring their way upon their own give them one heart, and I will put a heads, saith the Lord Jehovah. Vers. 17-21. ISRAEL PROMISED RESTORATION TO THEIR OWN LAND. The literal fulfillment of this prophecy did actually take place in their restoration at the end of the Babylonian captivity. Yet it was only a partial fulfillment after all. Only a small portion, and these practically all from the house of Judah, returned. Then further, while Israel did practically relinquish the practice of gross idolatry (verse 18), it did not then attain to that newness of heart predicted in verses 19 and 20. ‘This only commenced with the preaching of John the Baptist and with the coming of Christ. The Shekinah glory had departed (Chap. 9.3; 10.18 and 11.23), the ark was not restored, nor was the second temple strictly inhabited by God until Christ came, who made it more glorious than the first temple (Hag. 2.9): Even then His stay was short, and ended in His being rejected. ‘The full realization of the promise must then still be future, since the greater portion of Israel has still that hardness of the stony heart. CHAP LERS FOURTEEN 21 For thus saith the Lord Jehovah: and ye shall see their way and their How much more when I send my four doings; and ye shall be comforted con- cerning the evil that I have brought up- j on Jerusalem, the : sore’ judgments’ up J on Jerusalem, even concerning all that sword, and the famine, the evil beasts, I have brought upon it. 23 And they and the pestilence, to cut off from it shall comfort you, when ye see their man and beast! 22 Yet, behold, therein way and their doings: and ye shall shall be left *a remnant that shall be know that I have not done *without carried forth, both sons and daughters: cause all that I have done in it, saith the behold, they shall come forth unto you, Lord Jehovah. 1Heb. they that escape Or, in vain Vers. 21-23. THE JUDGMENTS OF GOD JUSTIFIED BY THE DISOBEDI- ENCE OF THE PEOPLE. This chapter from verse 12 to its close tells of the judgment of Jeho- vah upon Jerusalem. ° TAZ EZERIEL The “‘remnant’’ in verse 21 are not those who save their lives or are spared by Jehovah because of their righteousness, but those who, after escaping, go to the captives in Babylon and by their wicked way and character cause the exiles there to acknowledge that Jehovah was justified in bringing severe judgment upon both Jerusalem and its inhabitants, CHAPTER SIXTEEN 46 And thine elder sister is Samaria, that dwelleth at thy left hand, she and her daughters; and thy younger sister, that dwelleth at thy right hand, is Sodom and her daughters. 53 And I will ‘turn again their cap- tivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, and the captivity of thy captives in the midst of them; 55 And thy sisters, Sodom and her daugh- ters, shall return to their former estate; and Samaria and her daughters shall re- turn to their former estate; and thou and thy daughters shall return to your former estate. 60 Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and [| will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant. 61 Then shalt thou remember thy ways, and _ be ashamed, when thou shalt receive thy sisters, thine elder sisters and thy young- er; and I will give them unto thee for daughters, but not by thy covenant. 62 And I will establish my covenant with thee; and thou shalt know that I am Jehovah; 63 that thou mayest re- member, and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more, because of thy shame, when I have forgiven thee all that thou hast done, saith the Lord Jehovah. Israel is precluded. 10r, return to " a Vers. 46,53,55,60-63. ‘This portion of the chapter is exceedingly difficult to understand. THE HARLOTRY OF JERUSALEM FORGIVEN. Ver. 46. God says that in a sense Jerusalem is worse than her elder and younger sisters, Samaria and Sodom. ‘They were called her sisters because they both belonged to the same mother-land, Canaan, and perhaps more appropriately in a spiritual sense, because they were all animated by the same spirit of idolatry. In what sense could Samaria be said to be older than Sodom? None of the reasons given are at all satisfactory, and we are inclined to the explanation of Keil, who takes the words in the sense of “‘greater’’ and ‘‘smaller’’, i. e., with reference to the extent of the kingdoms. That Samaria and Sodom stand for kingdoms is clearly proven by the expression “‘daughters’’, i. e., the cities adjacent and dependent upon the capital. Ver. 53. This verse announces the restoration of Sodom and Samaria as well as that of Jerusalem, so that all boasting on the part of You shall be restored, but Sodom and Samaria shall be restored with you. But we know nothing of an exile of Sodom. ‘Then, too, in what sense can Sodom be said to be restored since Sodom and all the cities of the plains together with their inhabitants were utterly destroyed and sunk into the depths of the Dead Sea? Some think that Sodom stands for the Moabites and the Ammonites, Moab and Ammon being the offspring of Lot. (F. Lap.) But they were no more Sodomites than Lot was. 173 EZEKIBE Some think Sodom stands for the heathen. (Ori. Jer. Hav.) But in what sense could Sodom stand for heathenism any more than Samaria could. . Some think they stand for the descendents of Sodom, who were carried captive to Elam in the expedition against Sodom mentioned in Genesis 14, and for those of Zoar, which city was spared at the petition of Lot. (Lap.) These descendents were destined to restoration just as it was also merely the descendents of Samaria and Jerusalem that could be restored. (Coc. Neteler.) The prophecy in this sense might be said to have commenced its fulfillment on the day of Pentecost when it is expressly stated the Elamites were present. The only other explanation is that of Keil, who contends that the literal Sodom was meant, and yet he says, ‘““We certainly cannot think for a moment of any earthly restoration of Sodom’’, for even if the cities could be found, how could the inhabitants, who perished in them, be restored, and, says Keil, “in this connection it is chiefly to them that the words refer.” ‘“Therefore’’, says Keil, ‘‘the realization of the prophecy must be sought for beyond the present order of things, in one that extends into the life everlasting, and can only take place on the great day of the resur- rection of the dead in the persons of the former inhabitants of Sodom and her neighboring cities. Not only will the Gospel be preached to all nations before the end comes, but even to the dead.’’ He thinks that all heathen nations that died before Christ or departed from this earthly life without having heard the Gospel preached will still have a chance to hear it and an opportunity to believe it. _ It is difficult to decide with so little data before us, but perhaps that view which takes Sodom as representing the heathen in general is the more acceptable. Ver, 55. “return to their former estate’,—If by Sodom the Moabites and the Amonites are represented there was a partial fulfillment in the return under Cyrus (Jer. 48.47), and if by Sodom is represented the heathen the full realization is yet future, says Fausset. But what is their “former estate’? It cannot be their wicked state before their punishment to which they are to be returned in order that they may thereafter be converted. Keil thinks it is to their first estate in the sense of the restoration of all moral relations to their original moral constitution, which will begin by the reception of the heathen world, represented by Sodom, into the kingdom of Christ and will attain its perfection in the general restoration of the world to its original glory, the palingenesia. (II Pet. 3.13; Rom. 8.18; Matt. 19.28.) The forgiveness of the inhabitants of Sodom, he insists, can only take place on the great day of the resurrection of the dead: If, however, Sodom be taken as representing the heathen in general (to which view it would seem that even Keil has committed himself), why may not the “‘return to their former estate’ be a symbolical way of ex- pressing the idea of bestowing pardoning grace, as simply relating to the pardon of Jerusalem and Samaria, the covenant nation, and of Sodom representing the heathen? If Sodom does not represent the heathen then of course her pardon must be delayed, if it is to come at all, until the resurrection day. tat EZEKIEL This much is certain under any explanation, namely, that the be- - ginning of the fulfillment of this prophecy commenced with the establish- ment of the covenant made through Christ and with the reception of the believing portion of Israel in Judea, Samaria and Galilee (Acts 8.5; 9.31), and with the spread of the Gospel among the heathen and their entrance into the kingdom of Christ. Calvin, and Fausset following him, says we do not have any promise at all until we reach verse 60, and that verses 53 and 55 mean, When Sodom and Samaria shall be restored, then Jerusalem also will be restored, 1. @., never! ‘This is sustained neither by the letter nor by the connection. Ver. 60. The unfaithfulness of man can never alter the faithful- ness of God. The reference is not to a new covenant, but to the renewing or perfecting of the old one, the fulfillment of the promise given to David in II Samuel. _ Ver. 61. “thou shalt recetve thy sisters’’,—This of course means in this place not only Sodom and Samaria and their daughters, but heathen nations generally, great and small. The prophecy goes even beyond Rom. 11.25 presenting, as it does, not only to the covenant nation but to all heathen nations the prospect of being eventually received into the kingdom of Christ. “but not by thy covenant’’,—By what grammatical law Keil connects these words with “‘daughters’’ we fail to see. It must mean either the letter of the Old Testament, the covenant of works, upon which the Jews rested even while they broke it, or what is still better, the expression must be taken, as do the majority, as meaning, Not that thou on thy part hast stood to the covenant, but that I am the Lord; I change not. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN 22 Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: I will also take of the lofty top of the cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I will plant it upon a high and lofty mountain: 23 in the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it; and it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a goodly cedar: and under it shall dwell all birds of every wing; in the shade of the branches thereof shall they dwell. 24 And all the trees of the field shall know that I, Jehovah, have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish: I, Jehovah, have spoken and have done it. Vers. 22-24. PLANTING OF THE TRUE TWIG OF THE STEM OF DAVID. Ver. 22. The Lord will fulfill the promise which He had given to the seed of David. , As Nebuchadnezzar had broken off a twig from the top of the cedar and brought it to Babel (verse 13), but through it the kingdom of Judah had been brought to destruction, so will Jehovah Him- self crop off a tender twig from the top of the high cedar and plant it upon _a high mountain and it shall be a shelter to the whole world and shall be forever. This tender twig is none other than the Messiah, originally ‘‘a tender plant and root out of a dry ground”’. (Isa. 53.2.) “the cedar’’,—i. e., the royal house of David. “of its young twigs a tender one’’,—The idea of the tender ‘‘twig’’ 175 EZEKIEL or ‘shoot’ or “‘sprout’’ indicates not so much the youthful age of the Messiah (Hit.) as it does His lowly origin. “a high and lofty mountain’’,—i. e., Zion, destined, says Fausset, “‘to be the moral center and eminence of grace and glory shining forth to the world, out-topping all mundane elevation. The kingdom, typically begun at the return from Babylon, and rebuilding of the temple, fully began with Christ’s appearing and shall have its highest manifestation at His reappearing to reign on Zion, and thence over the whole earth.”’ Ver. 23. “and under it shall dwell all birds of every wing’’,—Says Keil, ‘“‘All the inhabitants of the earth will not only find food from the fruit of this tree, but protection under its shadow.”’ ‘The expression’, says Schroeder, ‘‘points to Noah’s ark of safety, and the meaning is, all the different nations and families of men upon earth.’”’ Says Fausset, ‘“The Gospel ‘mustard tree’, small at first, but at length receiving all under its covert.” Ver. 24. “And all the trees of the field’’,—These are the collective ruling powers of the world, the kings and royal families of the earth, just as the cedar represents the royal house of David. “high tree. . low tree. . green tree... dry tree’’,—The high tree, Schroeder thinks, points to Jehoiachin and the green tree to Zedekiah. Keil says that the high and green tree naturally suggests the royal house of David and the dry tree Jehoiachin, and while these suggestions are not to be set aside, at the same time the words are not to be restricted to any particular persons, but are applicable to every high and green, or withered and lowly tree, i. e., not merely to kings alone, but to all men in common. According to Hengstenberg the high tree is the worldly sovereignty, the green tree, Nebuchadnezzar’s sovereignty of the world at the time; while the low tree and the dry tree represent the house of David with special reference here, of course, to the Messiah. Thus Fausset says, ‘“‘All the empires of the world, represented by Babylon, once flourishing (green tree), shall be brought low before the once depressed (dry), but then exalted kingdom of Messiah and His peo- ple, the head of whom shall be Israel.”’ CHAPTER TWENTY 33 As I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, enter into judgment with you, saith the surely with a mighty hand, and with an Lord Jehovah. 37 And I will cause outstretched arm, and with wrath you to pass under the rod, and I will poured out, will I be king over you. bring you into the bond of the cove- 34 And I will bring you out from the nant; 38 and I will purge out from peoples, and will gather you out of the among you the rebels, and them that countries wherein ye are scattered, with _ transgress against me; I will bring them a mighty hand, and with an outstretched forth out of the land where they so- arm, and with wrath poured out; 35 journ, but they shall not enter into and I will bring you into the wilder- the land of Israel: and ye shall know ness of the peoples, and there will I © that I am Jehovah. 39 As for you, O enter into judgment with you face to house of Israel, thus saith the Lord face. 36 Like as I entered into judg- Jehovah: Go ye, serve every one his ment with your fathers in the wilder- idols, *and hereafter also, if ye will not ness of the land of Egypt, so will I hearken unto me; but my holy name 10r but hereafter surely ye shall hearken unto me and &c. 176 PACK TEE shall ye no more profane with your gifts, and with your idols. 40 For in my holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel, saith the Lord Jehovah, there shall all the house of Israel, all of them, serve me in the land: there will I accept them, and there will I require your offerings, and the “first-fruits of your “oblations, with all your holy things. 41 *As a sweet savor will I accept you, when I bring you out from the peoples, and gather you out of the countries where- in ye have been scattered; and I will be sanctified in you in the sight of the nations. 42 And ye shall know that I am Jehovah, when [ shall bring you into the land of Israel, into the coun- try which I °sware to give unto your fathers. 43 And there shall ye remem- ber your ways, and all your doings, wherein ye have polluted your selves; and. ye shall loathe yourselves in. your own sight for all your evils that ye have committed. 44 And ye shall know that I am Je- hovah,- when I have dealt with you for my name’s sake, not according to your evil ways, nor according to your cor- rupt doings, O ye house of Israel, saith the Lord Jehovah. on ile 5SHeb. lifted up my hand 4Or, with Vers. 33-44. THE JUDGMENT UPON AND THE FUTURE RESTORATION OF ISRAEL. “The passage’, says Scofield, ‘“‘is a prophecy of the future judgment upon Israel, regathered from all nations into the old wilderness of the wanderings. ‘The issue of this judgment determines who of Israel in that day shall enter the land for kingdom blessing.”’ Fausset says, ‘‘Lest the covenant people should abandon their distinc- tive hopes, and amalgamate with the surrounding heathen, he tells them that as the wilderness journey from Egypt was made subservient to disci- pline, and also to the taking out from among them of the rebellious, just - so a severe discipline should be administered to them during the next exodus for the same purpose, and so to prepare them for the restored possession of their land. This was only partially fulfilled before and at the return from Babylon, and its full and final accomplishment is yet future. “The Jews now for long have been actually undergoing such discipline.”’ Ver. 33. “and with wrath poured out’’,—These words, says Schroeder, strictly exclude any reference to a future leading into Canaan, because that is a thing of blessing and not of wrath. He appeals to the later expression, “into the wilderness of the peoples’, maintaining that this means the conducting of Israel into another exile, an intensifying of their exile where Jehovah will contend with them. With this Keil agrees; but this argument is not sufficiently sustained. The wrath may be poured out on the nations from whom Jehovah’s people are delivered, or it may refer to the judgment upon Israel herself through which she is to pass into the blessings which await her. Ver. 34. “out from the peoples... out from the countries wherein ye are scattered’’,—Keil says that this excludes any reference to the then existing exile, because Israel was then dispersed in one land only and among one people. (KI.) . But this is not well maintained in view of the extensive empire of the king of Babylon. (Jer. 27.5.) That there was a partial fulfillment of this prophecy in the return from Babylon cannot upon this ground be disputed. Ver. 35. “and I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples’, —Says Scofield here, ““The passage is a prophecy of the future judgment L77 EZe ie upon Israel, regathered from all nations into the old wilderness of the wanderings. The issue of this judgment determines who of Israel in that day shall enter the land for kingdom blessing.’ It is, however, not only a question as to whether the expression should be so literally construed, but in case it is thus construed the wilderness ought the rather to be referred to the desert land lying between them and the land of Palestine, whether we think of the return as from Babylon alone, or from other nations as well whither they may have been scattered. (Hit. Ros.) The future guidance of Israel is depicted as a repetition of their earlier guidance from Egypt to Canaan, and as their Arabian desert experience was an experience of discipline preparatory to their entrance into Canaan (for which very reason the Arabian desert is called the ‘‘wilderness of Egypt’’, whereas it might, so far as geographical reasons are concerned, be called the “‘wilder- ness of Canaan’’, because it touched Canaan as well as Egypt), so is the wilderness experience into which they are now to be led to be one of discipline. Keil thinks the expression is a figurative one applied to the world of nations, from whom the Israelites were spiritually distinct, whilst out- wardly they were in the very midst of them and had to suffer from their oppression. ‘‘Consequently’’, he says, “‘the leading of Israel out of the nations is not a local and corporeal deliverance out of the heathen lands at all, but a spiritual severance from the heathen world in order that they might not be absorbed in it and so become inseparably blended with the heathen.”’ Keil’s conclusion is, however, by no means a necessary or unavoidable one. ‘The “peoples’’ are without doubt those referred to in verse 34 and out from whom God says He will bring Israel, and all this passage teaches, in case it is to be figuratively construed, is that in contrast to the literal “wilderness of Egypt’ the “wilderness of the peoples’ refers to Israel’s spiritual state or period of trial, discipline and purification while exiles among these “‘peoples’’. Fausset says, ‘“The full and final fulfillment is future. The wilderness state will comprise not only the transition period of their restoration, but the beginning of their occupancy of Palestine, a time in which they shall endure the sorest of all their chastisements, to ‘purge out the rebels’ (verse 38), and then the remnant shall ‘all serve God tn the land’. ‘Thus the wilderness period does not denote locality, but their state intervening be- tween their rejection and their future restoration.” Schroeder says that the expression, “wilderness of the peoples’, and the “bringing out from the peoples’ as well must be taken spiritually as an aggravation of their exile condition, a spiritual experience of it, so that they should know and feel that they as the people of God were once more in the wilderness, but not at all in the same sense as before in the old wilderness wanderings on their way back from Egypt.’’ This is in sub- stantial agreement with Fausset. The difficulty arising from the fact that the disciplinary experience in the ‘‘wilderness of the peoples”’ is after the “bringing out from the peo- ples’ is relieved by some who adopt the figurative interpretation by referring the wilderness state to the transition period of discipline from the time Cyrus first decreed their restoration to the time of their complete settlement once more in their own land. Either this explanation must 178 EZERIEIS be adopted or that which takes the language literally and refers the “‘wilder- ness of the peoples’ to the desert land lying between Babylon and Palestine. All things considered, the literal construction is the simpler and by far the less objectionable. Ver. 36. Though God saved them out of Egypt, says Fausset, He afterwards destroyed in the wilderness them that believed not; so, though He brings the exiles out of Babylon, yet their wilderness state of chasten- ing and discipline continues, even after they were again in Palestine. Ver. 37. “And I will cause you to pass under the rod’’,—The under- lying figure is that of a shepherd causing his sheep to pass under his rod for the purpose of inspection and numbering (F. K. Hit.). We think, how- ever, its application here is that of the royal sceptre of Jehovah, agreeably to the expression “rule over’ in verse 33. The prominent idea in the figure being not so much subjection to government (Hen.), nor Jehovah’s special care and guardianship (K.), but rather that of the closest inspection, with a view to purification and separation, as is distinctly expressed in verse 38. (Schr.) “the bond of the covenant’’,—This is no doubt said with an allusion to the giving of the covenant-law at Sinai after the passage of the Red Sea. Both the threats of the covenant and the promises are bonds by which God trains His people, and Israel is to be constrained to glad submission to it. Ver. 38. As applied to the future restoration the words, “‘they shall not enter into the land of Israel’, must be taken symbolically. ‘‘Even though they enter Palestine’, says Fausset, “‘it shall be to them an exile state; they shall not enter into the spiritual state of the restored favor of God to His covenant people, which shall be given only to the remnant to be saved.”’ Ver. 39. This is not a command, but is really a powerful appeal to repent. It is as if He said, If ye will not serve me, then go and serve your idols knowing now, as you do, the full consequence. “and hereafter also’’,—-This is hardly to be connected with “serve’’, as if God anticipated the same apostacy afterwards (F. D.), nor can it be closely connected with what follows, as if it meant ‘‘and hereafter also, if ye will hearken to me, profane ye my name no more’ (Ma. Ros.). It is much better to allow it to stand by itself and take the following particle in the sense of an oath, i: e., verily, and translate “‘but afterwards (i. e., in the future) ... verily, ye will hearken unto me, and my holy name ye shall no more profane’, etc. This is in virtual agreement with the mar- ginal rendering, and thus it is taken by the majority. Schroeder allows the expression to stand with a dash—yjoining it neither with what goes before or with what follows, and reads as follows, “Sf ye will not hearken unto me (in the present), then ye shall no more profane’, etc. [he meaning, however, in any case is the same: Jehovah will have no hypocrisy; if they will not give up their idols, they cannot serve Him, and if they will not serve Jehovah alone, they may serve their idols, but He will not permit His holy name to be thus profaned by hypo- critical worship. Ver. 40. “all the house of Israel, all of them’’,—This wording 179 BZEKIBE: seems to point to the healing of the breach between the house of Judah and that of Israel. Kausset says, “‘not merely individuals such as consti- tute the elect Church now; but the whole nation, to be followed by the. conversion of the Gentile nations.”’ Ver. 41. The people purified by judgment shall be acceptable to Jehovah as a sweet savour, and in them, as a holy people, the holiness of their God shall be exhibited to the heathen. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT 25 Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: And they shall dwell securely’ therein; When I shall have gathered the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and shall be sancti- fied in them in the sight of the nations, then shall they dwell in their own land yea, they shall build houses, and plant vineyards, and shall dwell securely, when I have executed judgments upon all those that do them despite round about them; and they shall know that I am which I gave to my servant Jacob. 26 Jehovah their God. Vers. 25,26. RESTORATION TO THEIR OWN LAND PROMISED To ISRAEL. This, as Fausset would have us believe, was fulfilled in part only at the restoration from Babylon. ‘The full accomplishment is yet future when Israel under Christ shall be the center of Christendom; of which an earnest was given in the woman from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon who sought the Saviour. (Matt. 15.21,24.) CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE 21 In that day will I cause a horn to bud forth unto the house of Israel, and I will give thee the opening of the mouth in the midst of them; and they shall know that I am Jehovah. Vero ih “In that day’’,—i. e., primarily in the day when the judgment upon Egypt is executed by Nebuchadnezzar. “T will cause a horn-to bud forth’’,—The horn is the symbol of might and power. ‘The very downfall of Egypt will be the signal for the rise of Israel because of God’s covenant with her. Her ancient glory will begin to revive, which, says Fausset, is an earnest of Israel’s full glory under the Messiah. : The horn which the Lord will then cause to bud forth unto the house of Israel is not the Messiah, but is the Messianic salvation, and the reason for thus connecting this salvation with the overthrow of Egypt is that Egypt, as Havernick says, presents itself to the prophet as the power in which the idea of heathenism was embodied and circumscribed; or as Keil says, ‘In the might of Egypt the world-power is shattered, and the over- throw of the world-power is the dawn of the unfolding of the might of the kingdom of God.” Schmieder has aptly observed that the annihilation of.every earthly power that set itself:against the Lord is to the prophet a type of the world’s 180 ISRAEL’S ANCIENT GLORY TO BE REVIVED. BYE RIB judgment. Thus “in that day’ looks as well to the future, to what Hengstenberg calls ‘‘an ideal day’, to the time of the Messiah, as Ewald has properly recognized, to the “day of the Lord’ of Chap. 30.3, as Schroeder puts it. “T will give thee the open mouth in the midst of them (Israel) ’’,— Fausset thinks this means, ‘““When thy (the prophet’s) predictions shall have come to pass, thy words henceforth shall be more heeded.”’ PrAawleR eT HIR EY, Alas for the day! 3 For the day is near, even the day of Jehovah is near; it shall be a day of clouds, a time of the nations. Ver. 3. THE DAY OF JEHOVAH DRAWING NIGH. The prophet here announces that the day of the Lord’s judgment upon the nations is near at hand, and that it is about to burst upon Egypt. To the prophet the judgment upon Egypt was the beginning of a world- wide judgment upon all the heathen enemies of God. “tt shall be a day of clouds’’,—The day of the Lord was always a day of judgment and of taking vengeance. When the clear light of day comes to be veiled it is because of a threatening storm, and the wrath of God is thus accordingly conceived as about to break forth. “a time of the nattons’,—i. e., for taking vengeance upon them. C.K. Schr. ) CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR 11 For thus saith the Lord Jehovah: and will strengthen that which was Behold, I myself, even I, will search for sick: but the fat and the strong I will my sheep, and will seek them out. 12 destroy: I will feed them in justice. As a shepherd secketh out his flock in_ 17 And as for you, O my flock, thus the day that he is among his sheep that saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I judge are scattered abroad, so will I seek out between sheep and sheep, the rams and my sheep; and I will deliver them out the he-goats.’ 18 Seemeth it a small of all places whither they have been thing unto you to have. fed upon the scattered in “the cloudy and dark day. good pasture, but ye must tread down 13 And J will bring them out from the with your feet the residue of your pas- peoples, and gather them from the coun- ture? and to have drunk of the clear tries, and will bring them into their waters, but ye must foul the residue own land; and I will feed them upon with your feet? 19 And as for my ' the mountains of Israel, by the water- sheep, they eat:that which ye have trod- - courses, and in all the inhabited places den with your feet, and they drink that of the country. 14.I will feed them which ye have fouled with your feet. with good pasture; and upon the moun- | 20, Therefore thus saith the Lord tains of the height of Israel shall their Jehovah unto them: Behold, I, even I, fold be: there shall they lie down in a will judge between the fat sheep and the good fold; and on fat. pasture shall lean sheep. ,21 Because ye thrust with they feed upon the mountains of Israel. side and with shoulder, and push all 15 I myself will be the shepherd of my the diseased with your horns, till ye sheep, and I will cause them to lie have scattered them abroad: 22 there- down, saith the Lord Jehovah. 16 I fore will I save my flock; and they shall will seek that which was lost, and will no more be a prey; and I will judge ‘bring back that which was driven away, between sheep and sheep. 23 And I and will bind up that which was broken, will set up one shepherd over them, and "Heb. the day of clouds and thick darkness. 181 EVA cL ih oy We he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. 24 And I, Jehovah, will be their God, and my servant David prince among them; I, Jehovah, have spoken it. 25 And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause evil beasts to cease out of the land; and they shall dwell securely in the wilder- ness, and sleep in the woods. 26 And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in its season; there shall be showers of bless- ing. 27 And the tree of the field shall yield its fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase, and they shall be secure in their land; and they shall know that I am Jehovah, when I have broken the bars of their yoke, and have delivered them out of the hand of those that made bondmen of them. 28 And they shall no more be a prey to the nations, neither shall the beasts of the earth devour them; but they shall dwell securely, and none shall make them afraid. 29 And I will raise up unto them a “plantation for renown, and they shall be no more *consumed with famine in the land, neither bear the shame of the nations any more. 30 And they shall know that I, Jehovah their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, saith the Lord Jehovah. 31 And ye my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord Jehovah. 2Or, plant 3Heb. taken away Vets dle. Ver. 12. “‘tn the cloudy and dark day’’,—Because these words are apparently taken from Joel 2.2, Hitzig, Klieforth, Fausset and others con- nect them with the principal clause and read, ‘‘I will deliver them in the dark and cloudy day out of all the places whither they have been scattered’’. But the reason given is entirely insufficient and it is much better with our text to connect them with the word “‘scattered’’. This is not then the day of God’s judgment upon all nations, the great day of the Lord, but it is, as Schroeder and Keil observe, the day of dispersion of the people of Israel, ee oes: which befell them through the instrumentality of the eathen. Ver. 16. “‘the fat and the strong I will destroy’’,— Another side of the pastoral fidelity of Jehovah. The image is from fat cattle that wax. refractory. The fat and strong sheep are characterized in verses 18 and 19 and they refer to those rendered wanton by prosperity, the rich and strong, presumably the rulers and those occupying superior positions of the nation who oppress the humble and poor and treat them with severity. Ver. 17. The sheep are now themselves directly addressed. Jeho- vah judges between “sheep and sheep’, i. e., between one class of citizens and another, and will put an end to the oppressive conduct of the fat and strong ones. He then, by what Schroeder calls an “enlarging apposition’’, designates the class about to be punitively judged, “‘the rams and the he- goats’, the idea being not that of a separation of the sheep from the goats, but that the sheep will be separated from the sheep in such a manner that the ‘fat and strong’’ among the sheep will be placed with the “‘ranas and the he-goats’’ and kept apart from the others. In the next verse Jehovah proceeds to address the rams and the he-goats. Ver. 21. “‘scattered them abroad’’,—Grotius thinks, and perhaps rightly, that there is an allusion here to the carrying away to Babylon. Ver. 22. ‘‘they shall no more be a prey’’,—Says Fausset, ‘‘After the restoration from Babylon the Jews were delivered in some degree from 182 ISRAEL RESTORED AND THE DAVIDIC KINGDOM SET UP. EZERIBE the oppression, not only of foreigners but from their own great people ~ (Neh. 5.1-19). The full and final fulfillment of this prophecy is future.’ Ver. 23. “And I will set up one shepherd’’,—The Messianic hope closes each prophetic vision of the future. Compare John 10.14, where Jesus, doubtless thinking of this prophecy, says, ‘‘J am the good shepherd’. ‘That the verse points to the Messiah, who is called David in Isa. 55.4, there can be no doubt. In Chap. 37.24 (compare Jer. 23.6) it is ex- pressly said that the David to be raised up is to feed Israel and Judah, the two peoples that had before been divided. “my servant David’’,—He is called “servant’’ not alone with refer- ence to the obedience rendered (Hav.), but to the fact of His election as well. (Hen.) Says Klieforth, ‘“This shoot of David comprehends in His one person the whole shepherd-offices of Israel, and fulfills them; they are to be done away with Him, but no other king over the people of God shall relieve Him.” Ver. 25. “And I will make with them a covenant of peace’’,—1i. e., such as is the natural consequence of the covenant relationship of God. It is not to be restricted to a covenant which God will make with the beasts in favor of His people, but the thought is a more comprehensive one and accords with Lev. 26.4-6, which is to be realized for the first time only under the Messiah. Some think the evil beasts are the hostile human potencies and that the driving of the heathen world from its hitherto domineering position must be meant (Hav. Hen.); but this is not at all necessary nor a likely _ explanation. Klieforth thinks of a literal return to the paradisical state is the final fulfillment of this picture. Ver. 26. ‘the places round about my hill’’,—This is by no means to be interpreted with Hengstenberg as referring to the heathen nations, but means just what it says, i. e., the land of Palestine round about Jeru- salem. The thought is that God will make both the people and the land a blessing. (K. Kl. Hav.) “showers of blessing’ ,—i. e., the blessing brought by the fertilizing showers of their season. Ver. 28. “And they shall no more be a prey to the nations’ ,—'‘ The whole passage (11-31)’’; says Scofield, ‘‘speaks of a restoration yet future, for the remnant which returned after the seventy years and their posterity were continually under the Gentile yoke, until in A. D. 70 they were finally driven from the land into a dispersion which still continues.”’ Ver. 29. “‘a plantation for renown’’,—What they planted should grow and prosper so as to be a glory for them, and the nations instead of scoffing at the heretofore fallen and ruined condition of the people would be convinced from the blessing upon them that they were indeed the people of God. The reading of our text is much to be preferred to that of the margin, which Fausset adopts and accepts as pointing to the Messiah. (K. Wh. KI. Hit. Schr.) Hengstenberg thinks the reference is to “‘a renewal of the paradisical plantation’’, but not only is there nothing in the connection for this, but 183 EZEKIEL Chap. 36.99 shows that under these conditions there is to be “‘the rich distribution of harvest blessings’. CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX In the fitst fifteen verses of this chapter a message is given to the moun- tains of Israel. The address is’ really to the land, the mountains being mentioned doubtless in antithesis to the mountains of Seir in the previous chapter. Because the heathen rejoice that the Holy Land has been laid waste and fallen to them for a possession, therefore the devastated land shall be sown again and become fruitful and be given once more to Jeho- vah’s own people. 8 But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to my people Israel; for they are at hand to come. Ver. 8. RESTORATION FORETOLD. “for they are at hand to come’’,—Some explain this in that the Israelites are about to return to their land, the primary reference being to the return from Babylon which was “‘at hand’’ or comparatively near. ‘This, however, only in part fulfilled the prediction, the full and final bless- ing being yet future, the restoration from Babylon being but an earnest of the greater restoration yet to come. (F. Wh. KI. Hen. Schr.) However, most commentators say the Israelites are not the subject to be supplied and that the reference is to the blessings just promised, the branches and the fruits which the mountains are to bear. In the next section of this chapter (verses 16-23) the reason is given why the Lord-had scattered His people among the heathen. It was be- cause of their incorrigible wickedness and the defiling of their land by sin, and the necessity, as Fairbairn says, ‘‘of God’s vindicating the cause of His holiness by exercising upon them the severity of His displeasure’. In the last section of the chapter (verses 24-38) the purpose of the Lord for their future good is unfolded. There comes a promise first of restoration to their land, then of renewing their hearts to holiness and then of restoring them once more to a flourishing condition, after which is noticed the impression which the whole was to produce upon the minds of others. 24 For I will take you from among shall dwell in the land that I gave to the nations, and gather you out of all your fathers; and ye shall be my people, the countries, and will bring you into and I will be your God. 29 And I will your own land. 25 And I will sprinkle save you from all your uncleannesses: clean water upon you, and ye shall be and I will call for the grain, and will: clean: from all your filthiness, and from multiply it, and lay no famine upon all your idols, will I cleanse you. 26 you. 30 And I will multiply the fruit A new heart also will I give you, and a of the tree, and the increase of the field, new spirit will I put within you; and that ye may receive no more the re- I will take away the stony heart out of proach of famine among the nations. your flesh, and I will give you a heart 31 Then shall ye remember your evil of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit ways, and your doings that were not within you, and cause you to walk in good; and ye shall loathe yourselves in my statutes, and ye shall keep mine your own sight for your iniquities and ordinances, and do them. 28 And ye for your abominations. 184 eS Vers. 24-38. from Babylon. EZEKIEL 32 Not for your sake, *do I this, saith the Lord Jehovah, be it known unto you: be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel. 33 Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: In the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be builded. 34 And the land that was desolate shall be tilled, whereas it was a desolation in the sight of all that passed by. 35 And they shall say, This land that was deso- late is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined 10r, dol work Ver. 24. cities are fortified and inhabited. 36 Then the nations that are left round about you shall know that I, Jehovah, have builded the ruined places, and planted that which was desolate; I, Je- hovah, have spoken it, and I will do it. 37 Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: For this, moreover, will I be inquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them: I will increase them with men like a flock. 38 As the *flock for sacrifice, as the flock of Jerusalem in her appointed feasts, so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men: and they shall know that I am Jehovah. 2Heb. flock of holy things ISRAEL’S RESTORATION AND CONVERSION. This prediction was primarily fulfilled in the restoration It is, says Fausset, ‘‘ultimately to be fulfilled in the restor- ation from all countries whither the Jews are now dispersed’’. Vers. 25-38. (See comments under Chap. 11.17-19.) CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN This chapter contains two revelations from God. In the first the prophet is given a vision of the resurrection of Israel to new life (verses 1-14), the latter verses of which (verses 11-14) being the explanation of the vision contained in the former. 11 Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house I will bring you into the land of Israel. 13 And ye’shall know that I am Jeho- of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are clean cut off. 12 Therefore proph- esy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up vah, when I have opened your graves, and caused you to come up out of your graves, O my people. 14 And I will put my *Spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I will place you in your own land: and ye shall know that I, Jehovah, have spoken it and performed it, saith Jehovah. 10r, breath THE VISION OF THE VALLEY OF DRY BONES EXPLAINED. out of your graves, O my people: and Vers. 11-14. Ver. 11. “‘the whole house of Israel’’,—i. e., both tribes, Judah and Israel united. Ver. 12. The vision of the preceding verses is in these verses (11-14) explained as setting forth the raising up of the nation of Israel that has been given up to death, although many (Ca. Kl. Jer.) think the vision was intended to symbolize the raising of all the dead in general, the resurrection. To the people, speaking as they did in verse 11 the prophet is told to announce that the Lord will open their graves and bring ay out, put His breath of life in them and lead them back into their own and. “T will open your graves’’,—1. e., the abodes of their exile, since the people in exile considered themselves like dead men. 185 EZERIEE The passage from verses 1 to 10 has been used by the Fathers and many orthodox commentators as a basis for the doctrine of the resurrec- tion from the dead. This may be quite appropriate, but what we are concerned about is whether it is to be taken as a direct and immediate prophecy of that great event which is still in the future, or merely as a type or figure of the waking up to new life of the Israel then dead in captivity. That it is the latter is seen not only from the fact that in the vision itself there are certain features to be found that do not apply to the literal resur- rection of the dead, but as well from the fact that no other explanation can exhaust the meaning of the words in the first clause of verse 11. Of course everybody acknowledges that verses 11-14 predict the rais- ing to life of the nation of Israel, and the question arises how this is to be brought into harmony with the explanation which takes the first ten verses as a direct prophecy of the resurrection of the dead at the last day. Jerome thought to resolve the matter by making the words, “‘these bones are the whole house of Israel’ refer to the first resurrection, the resur- rection of the saints. But this, as Keil has noted for us, ‘‘cannot be recon- ciled either with the words or with the context and has evidently originated in perplexity’”’. Klieforth would have us believe that verses 11-14 do not furnish an explanation of the vision at all, but simply make one application of it to the resusitating of the Israelitish nation. But certainly this does not do justice to the words, “these bones are the whale house of Israel’. ‘The bones in the valley therefore must represent the whole house of Israel alone and not the resurrection of all men in general. 15 The word of Jehovah came again own land: 22 and I will make them unto me, saying, 16 And thou, son of one nation in the land, upon the moun- man, take thee one stick, and write tains of Israel; and one king shall be upon it, For Judah, and for the children king to them all; and they shall be no of Israel his companions: then take an- more two nations, neither shall they be other stick, and write upon it, For divided into two kingdoms any more at ~ Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and ‘for all; 23 neither shall they defile them- all the house of Israel his companions: selves any more with their idols, nor 17 and join them for thee one to an- with their detestable things, nor with other into one stick, that they may be- any of their transgressions; but I will come one in thy hand. 18 And when save them “out of all their dwelling- the children of thy people shall speak places, wherein they have sinned, and unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not show will cleanse them: so shall they be my us what thou meanest by these? 19 people, and I will be their God. say unto them, Thus saith the Lord 24 And my servant David shall be ° Jehovah: Behold, I will take the stick king over them; and they all shall have - of Joseph, which is in the hand of one shepherd: they shall also walk in Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his mine ordinances, and observe my stat- companions; and I will put them *with utes, and do them. 25 And they shall it, even with the stick of Judah, and dwell in the land that I have given unto make them one stick, and they shall be Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers one in my hand. 20 And the sticks dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, whereon thou writest shall be in thy they, and their children, and their chil- hand before their eyes. 21 And say dren’s children, for ever: and David my unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jeho- servant shall be their prince for ever. vah: Behold, I will take the children of 26 Moreover I will make a covenant of Israel from among the nations, whither peace with them; it shall be an ever- they are gone, and will gather them on lasting covenant with them; and [ will every side, and bring them into their “place them, and multiply them, and will 10r, of %Or, with'a slight change of text, from all Or, together with him unto (or, to be) the their backslidings : stick of Judah 4Or, give it them 186 EZoRIEL set my sanctuary in the midst of them And the nations sball know that *I am for evermore. 27 My tabernacle also Jehovah that sanctifieth Israel, when my shall be with them; and I will be their sanctuary shall be in the midst of them God, and they shall be my people. 28 for evermore. 5Or, over ®Or, 1, Jehovah, do sanctify Israel Vers. 15-28. "THE REUNITED TRIBES RESTORED To THEIR LAND. In this section of the chapter we have a prophecy of the reuniting of the two and the ten tribes and the bringing of them again into their own land. “It is impossible,’ says Scofield, ‘“‘seriously to pretend that this prophecy has ever been fulfilled in any sense. We have here a promise that the ten and two tribes shall no longer be divided into two kingdoms, and that the earthly center of the worship of God shall be in Jerusalem.”’ Ver. 22. “and one king shall be king to them all’’,—The one king is the Shepherd David, whose reign is to be forever (verse 25). In this verse the promise first made in Chap. 11.17, and repeated many times, is made once more. Ver. 23. “but I will save them out of all their dwelling places’’,— This has been variously explained. Hitzig, Hengstenberg and others think the “dwelling places’ refer to their settlements in foreign lands, and that the meaning is that they will be removed from the scene of their idolatries during the exile in these lands. Most writers, however, think the “dwelling places’ must be those of Canaan. Hengstenberg takes the words in a spiritual rather than a local sense. Jehovah will first purify their hearts and then through their influence the land round about will be purified and made holy. But the “‘cleansing’’ in the clause before us takes place before the removal. Klieforth, following the usual application of the words to Canaan, says the idea is ‘‘a leading out of these dwelling places’, and therefore denotes the leading over of Israel from the present Canaan, or the Canaan of this life, to the glorified, new and eternal Canaan. But Keil has very properly said that such an interpretation is irreconcilable with the words themselves and the context, while verse 25 shows that it is not the glorified Canaan in which they are to dwell, but in the earthly Canaan in which their fathers dwelt. Redpath prefers the marginal rendering of our text, “I will save them from all their backslidings’’. But this calls for a change in the text, which is not only unnecessary but hardly justifiable. Keil, Whitby and others maintain that it means that God will remove from their dwelling places in Canaan everything that could offer them an inducement to sin. Jehovah will preserve them from the sinful influ- ences of their dwelling places, which in other days had offered them such inducements to sin through the idolatry and moral corruption of the Canaanites who were left in the land. This we are inclined to think is the simple explanation. Ver. 25. The David, who is Christ, will so rule over the reunited people that they will not be divided any more into two peoples and two 187 EZEKIEL kingdoms, and both the dwelling of Israel in Canaan and the government of David will be an everlasting one, as this verse together with verses “As and 28 declare. Ver. 26. “I will make a covenant of peace with them’’,—The un- changeable covenant of grace so far superior to the old covenant of the law. ‘This covenant, already expressed in Chap. 34.25, comprehends all the saving good which the Lord will bestow upon His people. “will set my sanctuary in the midst of them’’,—Whatever further future reference may be contained in these words, and in the words of this entire section, it is certain that they find the commencement of their ful- fillment in the days of Christ and during this present dispensation. Hengstenberg says, ‘“This promise has at all events come to be glor- iously fulfilled in the election which forms the stem of the Christian Church, 3 Jerome says the sanctuary cannot be the temple built by Zerubbabel because this temple did not stand forever, and all these things are to be taken as referring to the Church in the time of the Saviour, when His tabernacle was placed 1 in the Church. Keil says, ‘“The sanctuary which God will place forever among His people is the sanctuary seen by Ezekiel in Chap. 40, and this is merely a figurative representation of the dwelling of God in the midst of His people through His Son and the Holy Spirit, which began to be. realized at the first coming of Christ, who ‘became flesh and tabernacled among men’ (John 1.14) and is continued in the spiritual dwelling of God in the hearts of believers (I Cor. 3.16).”’ As to any further fulfillment, Keil continues in the quotation by saying this dwelling of God with His people “‘will be completed at the second coming of our Lord in ‘the tabernacle of God with men’ of the new Jerusalem, of which the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple, since Israel will then first have become in truth the people of God (Reval 22g... “The prophecy’, says Whitby, ‘‘can never be fulfilled except by the ingathering of God’s spiritual Israel into their permanent inheritance, the Christian Church and the heavenly Canaan.” “The territory of the blessing’, says Fairbairn, “is no longer Canaan, but the region of which Christ is King and Lord.” “The prophecy is one of the future Church of salvation, the realized kingdom of priests’, says Schroeder, who, with Vitringa, agrees with Keil, and refers to John 1.14; I Cor. 3.16, and Rev. 21.3; 7.15. Ver. 27. “My tabernacle also shall be with them’’,—‘‘My taber- nacle’’ really means ‘“‘my dwelling’ and should perhaps be so read in the text. The change in form from the saying concerning His “‘sanctuary’’ is not unintentional, and the word used is in reality not “with them’’, as in our text, but “‘over them’’, as in the margin. (K. Hit. Hen. Schr.) Hitzig and Schroeder think the reference is to God’s dwelling place in heaven over the temple of Jerusalem. But this is rather gratuitous and takes from the text much of its richness of thought. Both Keil and Hengstenberg think the reference is to God’s “‘protect- ing power’, afforded, as Hengstenberg thinks, in the sanctuary of God, or 188 BZEKIED perhaps better, as Keil takes it, who says that the expression is drawn from ‘the site of the temple, towering above the city, and transferred to the dwelling of God in the midst of His people, to give prominence to the protecting power and saving grace of the God who rules in Israel. “All this is the prelude’, says Redpath, ‘‘to the erection of the sanc- tuary and tabernacle in the ideal Holy Land in Chap. 43.7, the same idea being in Rev. 21.3.” Fairbairn says these prophecies are descriptions of the future under the form and image of the past—not as if the past were actually to return again, but that its general spirit and character were to revive. Hengstenberg says, ““The New Testament knows nothing of a future possession of the land of Canaan.”’ Perhaps this section of Old Testament Scriptures, as much as any, is important in helping to decide the question as to how we are to under- stand the promises which tell of the restoration of all Israel to Canaan, to the land given to their fathers and where they are to dwell forever; whether, in a literal manner, by restoring the Jews to Palestine, or in a spiritual way, by the gathering together of the Israelites converted to God and introduced into the kingdom founded by Christ, in which latter case, Canaan, as the site of the Old Testament kingdom of God, would be a typical or symbolical designation of the earth wherever the sway and rule of Christ extends. The exponents of the literal interpretation expect the Messiah to restore the Jewish nation to Palestine, re-establish the kingdom of David, rebuild the temple and once more institute the sacrificial worship of the -Levitical law. Many of the deepest students of Scripture today believe that this, with more or less variation, is the only consistent explanation of the prophecies under consideration. Others, perhaps the majority, give to these Scriptures the spiritualistic interpretation noted above. (See re- marks under the last section of Ezekiel’s prophecy, page 196.) CHAPTERS THIRTY-EIGHT AND THIRTY-NINE “Gog, in the land of Magog, prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, will invade the restored land of Israel from the far distant northern land _ by the appointment of God in the last times, and with a powerful army of numerous nations (Chap. 38.1-9), with the intention of plundering Israel, now dwelling in security, that the Lord may sanctify Himself upon him before all the world (verses 10-16). But when Gog, of whom earlier prophets have already prophesied, shall fall upon Israel, he is to be destroyed by a wrathful judgment from the Lord, that the nations may know that the Lord is God (verses 17-23). On the mountains of Israel will Gog with all his hosts and nations succumb to the judgment of God (Chap. 39.1-8). The inhabitants of the cities of Israel will spend seven years in burning the weapons of the fallen foe, and seven months in bury- ing the corpses in a valley, which will receive its name from this, so as to purify the land (verses 9-16); whilst in the meantime all the birds and wild beasts will satiate themselves with the flesh and blood of the fallen (verses 17-20). By this judgment will all the nations as well as Israel know that it was on account of its sins that the Lord formerly gave up 189 EZERIBE Israel into the power of the heathen, but that now He will no more forsake His redeemed people, because He has poured out His Spirit upon it.”’ (Keil. ) The objections to a literal interpretation of the passage, as given by Fairbairn, are as follows: 1. The ideal nature of the name God; 2. The selection of the nations most remote from Israel and therefore most unlikely to act in con- cert; 3. The whole spoil of Israel could not have maintained the myriads of invaders a single day or given a handful to a tithe of their number; 4. The wood of the invaders’ weapons was to serve for fuel to Israel for seven years; 5. All Israel were to take seven months to the burying of the dead. If a million Israelites were to bury each two corpses a day, the aggregate buried in the 180 working days of the seven months would be 300,000,000 corpses; 6. ‘The smell from the unburied corpses, before they could be buried, would make it impossible to live in the pestilential stench; 7. The scene of the Lord’s controversy here is different from that in Isa. 34.6 where it is Edom, thus creating a discrepancy; 8. God’s deal- ings with His enemies is too grossly carnal for Messianic times. All of which, Fairbairn thinks, demands a non-literal interpretation, the final triumph of Messiah’s truth over the most distant and barbarous nations being represented as a literal conflict on a gigantic scale. Fausset, however, says that though the details are not literal, the distinctiveness in the picture gives probability to a more definite and gen- erally literal interpretation, and that what Ezekial stated more generally, Rev. 20.7-9 states more definitely as to the antichristian confederacy which is to assail the beloved city. CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT. 1 And the word of Jehovah came years thou shalt come into the land that unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, set is *brought back from the sword, that thy face toward Gog, of the land of is gathered out of many peoples, upon Magog, the *prince of Rosh, Meshech, the mountains of Israel, which have and Tubal, and prophesy against him, been a continual waste; but it is 3 and say, Thus saith the Lord Jeho- brought forth out of the peoples, and vah: Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, they shall dwell securely, all of them. *prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal: 9 And thou shalt ascend, thou shalt 4 and I will turn thee about, and put come like a storm, thou shalt be like a hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thee forth, and all thine army, horses thy hordes, and many peoples with thee. and horsemen, all of them clothed in 10 Thus saith the Lord, Jehovah: It full armor, a great company with buck- shall come to pass in that day, that ler and shield, all of them handling things shall come into thy mind, and swords: 5 Persia, Cush. and Put with thou shalt devise an evil device: 11 and them, all of them with shield and hel- thou shalt say, I will go up to the ‘land met; .6 Gomer, and all his hordes; of unwalled villages; I will go to them the house of Togarmah in the utter- that are at rest, that dwell securaly, all most parts of the north, and all his of them dwelling without walls, and hordes; even many peoples with thee. having neither bars nor gates; 12 to 7 Be thou prepared, yea, prepare take the spoil and to take the prey; thyself, thou, and all thy companies to turn thy hand against the waste that are assembled unto thee, and be places that are now inhabited, and thou a “guard unto them. 8 After many against the people that are gathered out days thou shalt be visited: in the latter of the nations, that have gotten cattle 10r, chief prince of Meshech 3Or, restored : 2Or, commander 4Or, an open country 190 EZEKIEL and goods, that dwell in the °middle of the earth. 13 Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take the spoil? hast thou assembled thy company to take the prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take great spoil? 14 Therefore, son of man, prophesy, and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: In that day when my people Israel dwelleth securely, shalt thou not know it? 15 And thou shalt come from thy place out of the uttermost parts of the north, thou, and many peo- ples with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company and a mighty army; 16 and thou shalt come up against my people Israel, as a cloud to cover the land: it shall come to pass in the latter days, that I will bring thee against my land, that the nations may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes. 17 Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Art thou he of whom I spake in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, that prophesied in those days for many years that I would bring thee against them? 18 And it shall come to pass in that day, when God shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord Jehovah, that my wrath shall come up into my nostrils. 19 For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel; 20 so that the fishes of the sea, and the birds of the heavens, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the eatth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground. 21 And I will call for a sword against him unto all my mountains, saith the Lord Jeho- vah: every man’s sword shall be against his brother. 22 And with pestilence and with blood will I enter into judg- ment with him; and I will rain upon him and upon his hordes, and upon the many peoples that are with him, an overflowing shower, and great hail- stones, fire, and brimstone. 23 And I will magnify myself, and sanctify my- self, and I will make myself known in the eyes of many nations; and they shall know that I am Jehovah. 5Heb. zavel. See Judg. 9.37 Vers. 1-23. THE DESTRUCTION OF GOG AND HIs GREAT ARMY OF NATIONS. Ver. 2. Gog is perhaps a name arbitrarily extracted from the coun- try, Magog, the latter being the name of a people mentioned in Gen. 10.2 as descended from Japheth, being according to tradition the great Scythian people. The word is used with the definite article, “‘the’’, here and thus seems to designate the well known people from the time of Genesis. The title ““Gog*’ may have been a common one for the kings of that country as the title ‘“Pharaoh’’ was for the rulers of Egypt. “Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal’’,—These were all peoples dwelling doubtless in the country of Taurus, and reckoned among the Scythian tribes, thus belonging to the neighborhood of Magog. ‘These names might have been adopted by Ezekiel from the historical fact familiar to the men of his time, as ideal titles for the foes of the last great and ungodly confederacy against the people of Jehovah. “Ver. 5. “Cush’’ and “Put’’ refer to the Ethiopians and the Libyans, while Gomer of verse 6 refers to the Celtic Cimmerians, and Togarmah to the Armenians of the Caucasus south of Iberia. Thus peoples living at the extreme north and east and south, on the borders of the then known world, make up the army of Gog. Where are * their former foes, Ammon, Moab, Edom, and Syrians, and the old im- perial powers of Egypt and Assyria and Babylon? ‘These will all have passed from the stage of history, and the people of God will have spread 191 EZERIBE so widely over the earth that its foes will, as Keil says, be found only on the borders of the civilized world. Ver. 7, “and be thou a guard unto them’’,—Spoken perhaps half ironically, i. e., if thou canst; for it will be seen immediately how the matter turns out. Ver. 8. “After many days thou shalt be visited’’,—These words remind one so vividly of Isa. 24.22 that it is impossible not to see here a play on the words of that passage. The words are used here as there in the sense of visited in wrath (K. F. Del. Schr.), “visited” being, as Keil Says, a more general idea than punishment. . Havernick renders the word ‘‘missed’’, or ‘““wanting’’, in the sense of their having perished as a result of the battle about to take place. But the word never has this meaning, and such meaning does not suit the context either here or in Isaiah. : Redpath, Hitzig, Klieforth and others translate, “‘thou shalt receive the command”. But neither is this in accord with the context nor sub- stantiated by the language. Gog has already, in verse 7, been appointed commander of the army and is not therefore to be placed in command “after many days’. Hitzig says it is not time to speak of the punishment yet; but Schroeder replies that the expression means that punishment will begin to be prepared. Both Keil and Schroeder explain the visitation as consisting in the fact of Gog’s being moved by Jehovah to invade the land, which was the initial step in the judgment that was coming upon him. , “After many days’’,—These words are defined by “tn the latter years’, and are the same as “the end of the days’, the last time—not the future generally, but the final future, the Messianic time for the coming of the kingdom of God. Says Whitby, ‘“The time referred to is the ‘terrible day of the end’ of which the prophets so often speak.”’ Fausset gives the words a double reference by way of fulfillment, the times being those of “the latter years” just before the coming of Christ— fulfilled under Antiochus Epiphanes before His first coming, and to be fulfilled under the Antichrist before His second coming. “the land that is brought back from the sword, that is gathered out of many peoples’’,—The predicates in these clauses show that in the word “land’’ the idea of its inhabitants predominates, for these only could be “beought back”’ and “‘gathered out’ “gathered out of many peas *,—The word “many” Keil thinks points beyond the Babylonian captivity to the dispersion of Israel in all the world, which did not take place until the second destruction of Jerusa- lem, and which also shows that the ‘‘continual waste’ spoken of denotes a much longer devastation of the land than the Chaldean devastation was. “a continual waste’’,—Says Fausset, ‘““‘Waste during the long period of the captivity, the earnest of the much longer period of Judah’s present desolation, to which the words more fully apply.” Verii1 0: “and thou shalt devise an evil device’’,—What this ‘evil device’’ is is seen in verses 11 and 12; the attacking God’s. people in their defenseless state. 192 EZEKIEL Ver. 12. “that dwell in the middle of the earth’’,—This is a figura- ‘tive expression to be explained by Chap. 5.5, “‘Jerusalem in the midst of the nations’. Palestine really was the center of the ancient civilized world. But the expression is hardly to be taken physically; it is rather to be taken morally, the land most glorious and richly blessed, so that its inhabitants occupy the most exalted position among the nations, and thus a central position for being a blessing to the world. Ver. 13. “the young lions thereof’’,—1i. e., the daring princes and leaders, Ver. 14. “‘shalt thou know it’’,—i. e., that Israel dwells securely, not expecting any hostile invasion (K.), to thy cost through the punish- ment inflicted upon thee (F.). The former explanation is the better, as the words which follow show. Schroeder thinks the knowing refers to what the questioners of the previous verse had said, i. e., thou shalt know that just that very thing is true; while Ewald and Hitzig, by a slight alter- ing of the text, read, “‘thou shalt set thyself in motion’. ; Ver. 17. “Art thou he of whom I spake tn old time’, etc.,—Gog and his hosts are here identified with the enemies spoken of in other prophe- cies. (F. Wh. K. Schr.) It means of course, Thou art really he, the affirmative reply to the question being contained in the last words of the verse, “I would bring thee against them’. Ver. 19. “‘there shall be a great shaking tn the land of Israel’’,— The reference is doubtless to physical agitations with accompanying social and moral revolutions, according to the customary figurative way of re- ferring to such things. (Compare verse 22 with Rev. 8.7,16,21.) CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE 1 And thou, son of man, prophesy people Israel; neither will I suffer my against Gog, and say, Thus saith the holy name to be profaned any more: Lord Jehovah: Behold, I am against and the nations shall know that I am thee, O Gog, “prince of Rosh, Meshech, Jehovah, the Holy One in Israel. 8 and Tubal; 2 and I will turn thee Behold, it cometh, and it shall be done, about, and will lead thee on, and will saith the Lord Jehovah: this is the day cause thee to come up from the utter- whereof I have spoken. 9 And they most parts of the north; and I will that dwell in the cities of Israel shall bring thee upon the mountains of Israel; go forth, and shall make fires of the 3 and I will smite thv bow out of thy weapons and burn them, both the shields left hand, and will cause thine arrows and the bucklers, the bows and the ar- to fall out of thy right hand. 4 Thou rows, and the handstaves, and the spears, shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, and they shall make fires of them seven thou, and all thy hordes, and the peoples years; 10 so that they shall take no that are with thee: I will give thee unto wood out of the field, neither cut down the ravenous birds of every sort, and to any out of the forests; for they shall the beasts of the field to be devoured. make fires of the weapons; and they 5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field; shall plunder those that plundered them, for I have spoken it, saith the Lord Je- and rob those that robbed them, saith hovah. 6 And I will send a fire on the Lord Jehovah. Magog, and on them that dwell securely 11 And it shall come to pass in that in the “isles; and they shall know that day, that I will give unto Gog, a place I am Jehovah. 7 And my holy name for burial in Israel, the valley of them will I make known in the midst of my that pass through *on the east of the 10r, chief prince of Meshech 3Or, in front of 2Or, coast-lands 19D. EZEKIEL ’ sea; and it shall stop them that pass through: and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude; and they shall call it The valley of *Hamon-gog. 12 And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying them, that they may cleanse the land. 13 Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them; and it shall be to them a renown in the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord Jehovah. 14 And they shall set apart men of continual employment, that shall pass through the land, and, with them that pass through, those that bury them that remain upon the face of the land, to cleanse it: after the end of seven months shall they search. 15 And they that pass through the land shall pass through; and when any seeth a man’s bone, then shall he ‘set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamon-gog. 16 And °Ham- onah shall also be the name of a city. Thus shall they cleanse the land. 17 And thou, son of man, thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Speak unto the birds of every sort, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the moun- tains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh and drink blood. 18 Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bul- locks, all of them fatlings of Bashan. 19 And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you. 20 And ye shall be filled at my ‘That is, the multitude of Gog 5Heb. build ®That is, multitude table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord Jehovah. 21 And I will set my glory among the nations; and all the nations shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them. 22 So the house of Israel shall know that I am Jehovah their God, from that day and forward. 23 And the nations shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity; because they trespassed against me, and I hid my face from them: so I gave them in- to the hand of their adversaries, and they fell all of them by the sword. 24 According to their uncleanness and ac- cording to their transgressions did I un- to them; and I hid my face from them. 25 Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Now will I bring back the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for my holy name. 26 And they shall bear their shame, and all their trespasses whereby they have tres- passed against me, when they shall dwell securely in their land, and none shall make them afraid; 27 when I have brought them back from the peoples, and gathered them out of their enemies’ lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations. 28 And they shall know that I am Jehovah their God, in that I caused them to go into captivity among the’ nations, and have gathered them unto their own land; and I will leave none of them any more there; 29 neither will I hide my face any more from them; for I have poured out my Spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord Jehovah. Vers. 1-29. “THE JUDGMENT UPON GOG AND His Hosts CONTINUED. Ver. 2. “and I will turn thee about’’,—1i. e., doubtless in the sense of misleading him. Ver. 6. “them that dwell securely tn the isles’’,—The judgment extends to all the heathen nations that are dwelling securely, carelessly and confidently in their distant homes, extending even to the land of Gog him- self. Ver. 9. “they shall make fires of them seven years’’,—Whitby says “‘seven years’ is symbolical of completeness. Thus also Redpath, Fausset (nothing must be left to pollute the land), Keil, Schroeder and prac- tically all. Says Keil, ‘““The number seven in the seven years as well as in the 194 EZEKIEL _seven months of burying is symbolical, stamping the overthrow as a pun- ishment inflicted by God, the completion of a divine judgment.”’ “Thus nearly all. ‘The reason is not as Havernick says, that weapons of war are irrecon- cilable with the character of the Messianic times of peace, but it is the complete annihilation of the enemy, the removal of every trace of him. Ver. 11. “‘the valley of them that pass through on the east of the sea’’,—In place of this Cornill, Whitby, Redpath and others read, ‘“The valley of Abarim’’, which leads to the frontier mountains of Israel, over against Moab, with the great, horrible sulphurous valley of the Dead Sea at its foot, through which ran the ancient road most traveled by invaders from the east. But there is no satisfying reason for this interpretation; nor does it signify ‘‘the valley of the haughty ones’’ (Ew.), nor is there in it an allusion to the valley of Zech. 14.4 (Hit.), nor the valley of Jehosa- phat, as Klieforth says. It is doubtless the valley of the Jordan above the Dead Sea. We think Keil is right in reading with the margin of our text, ‘‘on the front of’’ instead of with the text, “‘on the east of’, for the word scarcely, if ever, carries with it the meaning of “‘east’’. “The burial place, therefore, as looked at from Jerusalem, the central point of the land, is probably the valley of the Jordan where is the principal crossing place from Gilead into Canaan proper, and which is the broadest part of the valley and therefore well adapted to be the burial place of the slaughtered multitude. “And it shall stop them that pass through’’,—The burial ground is __ to be so large that it will block the way for passengers, the number of graves, or the impurity and uncleanness of the place causing traffic through the valley to cease. Ver. 13. “and tt shall be to them a renown’’,—Not that it is a source of honor to assist in such work, nor that they possess the grave of Gog (Hit.), but because they thereby cleanse the land and manifest their zeal to show themselves a holy people by sweeping away uncleanness. (K.) Ver. 14. “with them that pass through’’,—The men employed in the burying were to be assisted by the passers through, by whom is doubt- less meant the ordinary Israelitish travelers. “These do not belong to the official burial party. Ver. 16. Hamonah;, the literal of which is ‘‘multitude’’, is the name of a city presumably built near the burial place, commemorating by its name the overthrow of the multitude of Israel’s foes. Ver. 18. “‘all of them fatlings of Bashan’’,—i. e., ungodly men of might, Bashan being famed for its fat cattle. Grotius has correctly re- marked that the names of all these animals, which were generally employed in the sacrifices, are to be understood as signifying different orders of men, chiefs, generals, soldiers, etc. (Compare these verses with Rev. 19.17,18.) Ver. 20. “‘at my table’’,—i. e., the field of battle on the mountains of Israel. ba Whitby and others think by “chariots’’ are meant riding beasts. Ver. 25. “the whole house of Israel’’,—(See Rom. 11.26.) ‘“‘The 195 BZERIED restoration of Israel heretofore has been partial. There must yet be one that shall be universal.’ (F.) Ver. 26. “And they shall bear theit shame’’,—This is not to be altered into ‘‘they shall forget their shame’ (Hit. Dat.), but they will be ashamed of their past sins, and of their unworthiness of God’s so great mercy. Says Keil, “In order to determine with greater precision what is the heathen power thus rising up in Gog against the kingdom of God, we must take into consideration the passage in the. Apocalypse (Rev. 20.8 and 9), where our prophecy is resumed.” Plumptre asks, “‘Will this prophecy ever be realized on this earth, or must we only look for it in the heavenly city whose builder and maker is God?”’ Whitby says, ‘‘the conflict is to be on this earth, and the victory and peace which follows must be looked for here. It is not, however, a literal conflict between men armed with bows and arrows who shall be killed with bolts of lightning, but a spiritual battle between God's people and the powers of evil’. Scofield says, ‘“That the primary reference is to the northern European powers, headed up by Russia, all agree. “he whole passage should be read in connection with Zech. 12.1-4; 14.1-9; Matt. 24.14-30; Rev. 14.14-20; 19.17-21. The reference to Meshech and Tubal (Moscow and Tobolsk) is a clear mark of identification. Russia and the northern powers have been the latest persecutors of the dispersed Israel, and it is congruous both with divine justice and with the covenants that justice should fall at the climax of the last mad attempt to exterminate the rem- nant of Israel in Jerusalem. “The whole prophecy belongs to the yet future ‘day of Jehovah’, and to the battle of Armageddon, but includes also the final revolt of the nations at the close of the kingdom age.”’ The time of this invasion is clearly set forth as “‘in the latter years”’ (verse 8), “‘tn the latter days’ (verse 16), and it is against the land “‘that ts brought back from the sword, that ts gathered out of many peoples’. ‘““This,’’ says Gaebelein, ‘‘shows us that the invasion takes place at the time when the Lord has brought back His people and resumed His relationship with the remnant of Israel. It must not be identified with the final revolt at the close of the Millenium, when Satan is loosed for a little season (Rev. 20.7-9). The invasion which Ezekiel describes takes place at the beginning of the Millennium, whereas the invasion of Gog and Magog in Revelation is postmillennial. The judgment upon Gog and Magog as here described completes and ends the judgment of the living nations at the beginning of the Millennial period.” CHAPTERS FORTY TO FORTY-EIGHT Here in vision the prophet is carried back to the land of Israel and shown the new temple, the new order of service and the new division of the land among the tribes when they shall have returned. Jehovah had prom- ised in the latter part of Chap. 37 that He would place. His sanctuary, His temple, in the midst of them and dwell over them as their God forever. 196 EZERIBE The chapters before us now are the realization of that promise. “The magnificent picture begins with the measurement of the new sanctuary, into which the glory of the Lord enters; it closes with directions for the re- division of the land among the tribes and the building of the new Jerusa- lem; while between these two portions the form of the ceremonial services of the temple are set forth, in the keeping of which Israel is to show itself to be the holy people of Jehovah. As to whether the vision in these chapters is to be considered as one to be fulfilled literally, or in a figurative or symbolical way, commentators differ very widely from one another. The figurative interpretation has been the predominate one even from the earliest period of Church history, having been supported by Ephraem Syrus, Theodoret, Jerome and many others. So generally did it prevail that L. Cappellus said, ‘“That this is a setting forth of spiritual worship in types and figures, as portrayed in the picture and all the rites of this temple, which differ greatly from those of Moses, there is not a Christian who denies; nor any Jew, unless prejudiced and very obdurate, who ven- tures to deny, seeing that there are so many things in this description of Ezekiel’s which not even the most shameless Jew has dared to argue that we are to interpret according to the letter.”’ In more recent times, however, many of our most learned critical scholars have not hesitated to champion the literal explanation of this prophecy, and have not only seen in many of the other prophecies, predic- tions of the literal restoration of Israel to the land of Palestine, but in this one the directions for the rebuilding of a new temple of the future in Jeru- salem and the renewal of the Levitical worship in the Millennial age. (Ba. Au. Vo. Wh. Gab. Hof. Mor. Bro.) ) instead or. 6, ©.n440., .. (Llav. Hen. Der. Less. Scholl.) (b) Klieforth reckons from the edict of Cyrus, B. C. 536, and counts sixty-nine mystical weeks to the birth of Christ. (c) Some reckon from the decree given by Artaxerxes in the seventh year of his reign, B. C. 457 (Ez. 7.8) and count 483 years to Christ’s baptism in A. D. 26. (Pu. Au. Bla.) (d) Some take the reckoning of Africanus as above. B. C. 445 to A. D. 32 is 476 years, or 173,740 days. This plus 116 days for leap years makes 173,856 days. The exact date of the crucifixion was April 6 (A. D. 32), and the exact date of the edict was March 14 (B. C. 445), giving twenty-four days more, which added to - 173,856 makes 173,880 days. This is exactly 483 times 360 days (a prophetic year). (Gab. Sir Robert Anderson.) In harmony with the direct Messianic interpretation of the prophecy “the anointed one’ of verses 25 and 26 are the same person, i. e., Christ. (hea enue KisHav. Hen. Hof. Del.) Of those who make the baptism of Christ the terminus ad quem of the sixty-nine weeks, most of the older and many of the later expositors make the ‘‘one week’’ (the last week—-seven years) follow immediately, the crucifixion (the “cutting off’’) taking place at the end of three and one-half years (in the midst of the week) which put an end to O. T. sacrifices. The rest of the last week they leave indefinitely with no precise chronological determination, referring it to the founding of Christianity through the preaching of the Apostles. Of those who make the crucifixion the terminus ad quem, some add next a hiatus of 2000 years and make the last week the period of the final Antichrist. (Gab. Sco. Mor. Tor. Mack.) Klieforth, who holds the mystical theory, reckons the seven weeks from the edict of Cyrus to the advent of Christ, the sixty-two weeks from the advent of Christ to the Antichrist week which is the last week, the “one week’’. “built again even tn troublous times’’—This occurs under Nehemiah pag | DANIEL and Ezra, the enemies of God’s people causing them much trouble. His- torically the reconstruction period cannot be extended throughout the entire sixty-nine weeks, as some (F. Zo.) have interpreted. The temple | was built as early as B.C. 515. (See Neh. 6.15 and Ez. 6.15.) ‘The seventy weeks are divided into seven (forty-nine years) ; sixty- two (434 years), and one (seven years). In the seven weeks (forty-nine years) Jerusalem was to be rebuilt ‘in troublous times’. “This was ful- filled as Ezra and Nehemiah record. Sixty-two weeks (434 years) there- after Messiah was to come. ‘This was fulfilled in the birth of Christ.” (Scofield. ) Ver. 26. “and shall have nothing’’,—All Hebrew scholars agree with this reading. The meaning is that He shall then possess nothing; He shall not possess the kingdom or be the acknowledged King; He shall be deprived of everything. (C. Eb. Kr. Kl. Ju. Gab. Mor. Sco.) The following are some of the numerous other renderings: 1. “‘not for himself’, 1. e., not for His own sake will Christ die, but for humanity. (V. Ros. Wil. Hav. Bul) “shall have no adherents’. (Au. Gro. Marginal reading.) “there shall be none to help him’’. (Vat.) “there shall be nothing to Him’’, i. e., the city, the sanctuary and the Jewish people shall be His no more. (Pu.) 5. “it shall not be to him”’, i. e., His place as Messiah—He has lost it. (K. Hengstenberg adopts the fourth reading but makes it mean that the earthly kingdom for which the Jews had hoped shall come to nought. All of the above five renderings together with that of our text refer “the anointed one’’ to Christ. Those who refer ‘‘the anointed one’ to Onias or Philopator or Alexander translate, ‘‘he shall have no successor’. “the prince that shall come’’,—To whom does this refer? (See ex- planation under verse 27.) “and the end thereof’, etc..—According to our text this must be taken as the end of the city and the sanctuary (F. Au. Del. Hav. Hit. Gei. Len.), but it may quite as properly be rendered “‘and his end’’ and refer to the prince that shall come, the final Antichrist. (K. Kl. Kr. Zo. Hof. Wie. Gab. Sco. Mor. Tor. Treg.) “and even unto the end shall be war’’,—-Unto what end? . The end of the city and the sanctuary. (Au. Hav.) . The end of the prince, 1. e., until he is destroyed. (Wie. as well as all who take the prince to be Antiochus Epiphanes. ) The end of all things. (KI.) . The end generally, i. e., the end of the last week, sehr it be viewed as then in progress or as a week yet to come in the future. (K. Hen. Len. Hit.) This last is without doubt correct. Scofield says, ““The crucifixion is the first event of verse 26. The second event is the destruction of the city, fulfilled A. D. 70. Then “unto the end’’, a period not fixed, but which has already lasted 2000 years. “To Daniel was revealed only that wars and desolations should continue (Matt. 24.6-14). The New Testament reveals that which was hidden from the Old Testament prophets (Eph. 3.1-10) that during this period should 222 coe - DANIEL be accomplished the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 13.1-50), ‘and the outcalling of the Church (Rom. 11.25). When the Church age will end and the ‘seventieth week’ begin, is nowhere revealed. Its dura- tion can be but seven years; to make it more violates the principle of inter- pretation already confirmed by fulfillment.” “desolations ate determined’’,—According to our text these words are to be joined to the preceding clause with a semicolon and are to be taken as an explanatory clause. (KI. Kr.) Many prefer the reading of the Authorized Version, ‘‘and unto the end of the war desolations are determined’. (So. Fu. Ew. Hof. Ros. Vul. Sept.) Another reading and one which we prefer is, “and even unto the end shall be war, the determined desolations’. ‘The ‘‘determined desolations”’ are by this rendering taken in apposition with the word “‘war’’. (Au. Hit. Wie. Mau. Len. Hav. ) “determined”’,—i. e., decreed by God. Ver. 27. “‘make a firm covenant’’,—Many authorities take the word ““week’’ to be the subject of this sentence, and explain the expression as follows: 1. The one week shall make the Old Testament covenant (adher- ence to the faith in Jehovah and to the theocratic law) hard (grievous) for many. (Hit.) 2. The one week shall confirm many in the covenant through tribu- lation and the trial of their faith. (Hof. Ros.) 3. The one week shall confirm a covenant to many through the seduc- tive arts of Antiochus Epiphanes. (Len.) 4. The one week (especially by the death of the Messiah) shall lead to the conclusion of a new, strong and firm covenant with many. (Au. Hen. Hav.) We prefer with our text to make “‘he’’ the subject of the sentence. It would seem that “‘he’’ here must refer to the same person as does “the prince that shall come’”’ in verse 26, and the reference in verse 26 must therefore be determined by the content of this verse 27 as well as by its own content. It would seem evident therefore that “‘the prince that shall come’ and the ““he’’ cannot refer to Antiochus Epiphanes (Zo. Fa.) , because, as Strong remarks, “‘the language was not fulfilled in any sense by Antiochus who aimed at the suppression of Jehovah’s worship and virtually left the city and the sanctuary untouched’’; nor can it refer to Christ, the Messiah (F. C. Rob. Wil. Str.) because it was not His people (verse 26) that destroyed the city and the sanctuary, nor is it without extreme difficulty that we can think of Him making a covenant for a week (seven years). His was an “everlasting covenant’. Once more, it can hardly refer to Titus (F. Bl. Ew. Len. Jos. Str.), because while verse 26 might be true of him, verse 27 can in no sense be said to be so. It would seem therefore that the refer- ence in both verses must be to the Antichrist who is yet to come. (K. KI. Kr. Sco. Mor. Gab. Wie. Hof.) “many’’,—lIn the original the article “‘the’’ is found. Zoeckler and his class of interpreters make these to be the apostatizing Jews in the time Poh, DANIEL of Antiochus Epiphanes, but Keil well remarks that the mass of the Jews did not apostatize in his time, which this expression, by the use of the definite article “‘the’’ seems to make clear was the case. The reference, of course, consistent with our former explanation must refer to the Jews of the times of the final Antichrist. As Keil says, ‘“That ungodly prince shall impose upon the mass of the people a strong covenant that they should follow him and give themselves to him as their God.” It must be noticed that, if “‘the prince that shall come’’ be taken as the Antichrist, it is not the Antichrist who destroys “‘the city and the sanc- tuary’’, but the people of the Antichrist; that is, as Morgan says, “‘the people who are guided by the same principle of government that eventually characterizes the rule of the Antichrist’’. Now, according to our explanation thus far, two distinct periods of time are referred to in the passages immediately before us. If we trans- late with our text, “the end thereof’ in verse 26, and refer this to the end of the city and the sanctuary, then the end time in which the final Anti- christ appears begins with verse 27, but if with Morgan and others we translate “‘his end’ in verse 26, and refer this to the Antichrist himself, then the prophecy passes immediately after the semicolon on to events at the close of this age, when the Prince himself, the final Antichrist, shall be manifested. “Then, as Morgan says, ‘““The semicolon of Daniel is the £ ESF: coma which follows Isaiah’s ‘acceptable year of the Lord’. “and in the midst of the week he’’, etc..—The subject is of course the same throughout the verse. Says Scofield, “‘He will covenant with the Jews to restore their temple sacrifices for one week (seven years), but in the middle of that time, after three and one-half years, he will break the covenant and fulfill Dan. 12.11; II Thess. 2.3,4. Between the sixty- ninth week, after which the Messiah was cut off, and the. seventieth week, within which the ‘little horn’ of Dan. 7 will run his awful course, inter- venes this entire Church-age. Verse 27 deals with the last three and one- half years of the seven, which are identical with the ‘great Tribulation’, ae erepe elie the hour of temptation; Matt. 24.15-28; Dan. 12.1; ev. 3.10. Those who refer the subject of this verse to Christ, the Messiah, maintain that the reference is to His perfect expiatory sacrifice on the Cross whereby He did forever away with the Levitical sacrifices. (F. Au. Str. Hav. Hen.) These authorities maintain, therefore, that half of Daniel’s missing week has already gone in the three and one-half years of our Lord’s earthly ministry. But the clear and distinct division of ‘““weeks’’ in verses 26 and 27 rather argue against this view and lead us to believe that the whole of the missing week is still in the future. “upon the wing of abominations shall one come that maketh deso- late’’,—‘‘abominations”’ mean “‘horrible things’’ and from the religious standpoint, “‘abominable idolatries’’. “wing’’ is a literal translation. The word is equivalent to “‘screen, protection, covering, roof’, It carries in it the idea of extension and so may be applied to the wing of a building. Some render it “‘pinnacle’’, but Bleek and Keil argue rather conclusively that the idea of extension which inheres in the word is always extension horizontally and never vertically. The idea of “‘pinnacle’’ may be gotten from one of its primal meanings. Zan DANIEL i. e., “roof’’, and so by the rule of Synecdoche (a part being taken for the whole) the “wing’’ (extension) or the ‘‘roof’’ (pinnacle) may be applied to the entire building and so read ‘‘temple’. ‘The ancient versions all agreed in this. “Ihe Maccabean book, the most ancient translation of the words, so renders, as do also the most ancient translations, the Septuagint and the Vulgate. The literal reading would then be, ‘“‘Upon the temple shall come the abominations of the one that maketh desolate’, or ‘‘Upon the temple shall come the abominations of desolation’, according as we translate ‘“‘desolator’’ or ‘‘desolation’”’. If the rendering ‘‘desolation’’ be adopted, this word would be considered as an apposition to ‘‘abomina- tions’, it being really a genitive of description. Others translate, ‘Under the pinnacle of abominations comes the one temple where abominable idols were placed.’’ (D. Oe. Os. Bul. Ges.) The last of these authorities translates with the margin of the Authorized Version, ‘‘On the pinnacle (of the temple) are the abominations of the one that maketh desolate’. Jesus said, ‘‘When you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel’’. He quoted from the Vulgate and He also knew Hebrew and this lends pretty good evidence that the Vulgate translation is a good one. It would appear, however, that the only gram- matically possible translation is that of our text. Others translate, “‘Upon the pinnacle of abominations comes the one that maketh desolate’. (K. KI. Kr. Mau. Rei. Hen. Len.) The first three of these authorities makes the desolator to be the future Antichrist coming on the wings of idolatry, the power that moves and carries him over the earth. Still others translate, “‘On account of the pinnacle, or frightful height of abominations there shall come one that maketh deso- late’, thus giving the moral ground why in God’s providence the desolator came. (F. Pu. Au. Eu. Gab.) Gaebelein translates, ““On account of the protection of abominations there shall come one who maketh desolate’. Hitzig renders it, ‘“Upon the extreme point of the abominations deso- lation shall come’. ‘This translation is much like that of our text, but by the “‘extreme point’? he means the idol altar put up by Antiochus Epi- phanes. These different translations practically come to the same thing in their meaning; it was because of the idolatrous abominations that the deso- lator, or desolation, was to come upon the city and the sanctuary. “even unto the full end’’,—Zoeckler says the expression for “full end”’ is an exact reproduction of Isa. 10.23; 28.22, and means ‘‘consumption”’, utter extinction, and he translates the last word of the verse “‘desolator’’, referring it to Antiochus Epiphanes. Fausset and Tregellius translate with Zoeckler but while Fausset refers the word to Titus as a type of the final Antichrist, Tregellius refers it to the final Antichrist directly. The word in question, however, is passive and so means ‘“‘desolate’’, and means, we presume, the people who are made desolate. SARE R LEN 14 Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days; for the vision is yet for many days. 225 DANIEL Ver. 14. THE PROPHECY OF THE END-TIME ANNOUNCED. “the vision ts yet for many days’’,—The idea here may be either: 1. The vision to be imparted to thee shall extend to these days. (Kr. Hav.) 2. Yet a vision of those days Iam now to reveal. (Zo.) According to this latter explanation the word “‘yet’’ seems to have a backward reference to the other visions given to Daniel. Either view gives -good sense and one has about as much in its favor as the other. “many days’’,—These days refer to the days just mentioned, i. e., the latter days. No content of this vision is given unless we refer it to the following chapter. CHAPTERS ELEVEN 31 And forces shall stand on his part, and they shall profane the sanctu- ary, even the fortress, and shall take away the continual burnt-offering, and they shall set up the abomination that maketh desolate. 32 And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he *pervert by flat- teries; but the people that know their God shall be strong, and do exploits. 33 And *they that are wise among the people shall instruct many; yet they shall fall by the sword and by flame, by captivity and by spoil many days. 34 Now when they shall fall, they shall be helped with a little help; but many shall join themselves unto them with flatteries. 35 And some of *them that are wise shall fall, to refine them, and to purify, and to make them white, even to the time of the end; because it is yet for the time appointed. 1Heb. make profane "Or, the teachers of the people 3Or, the teachers THE ‘“‘LITTLE HORN’’ OF DANIEL 8, ANTIOCHUS EPI- PHANES, IN THE ‘“‘GLORIOUS LAND’’ (PALESTINE). Vers. 31-35. In Chap. 11 the prophet first traces through prophetic vision the history of the two parts of the Grecian empire which had to do with Palestine and the Jews, viz., Syria and Egypt. He brings this down to the time of Antiochus Epiphanes (verse 21), after which the vision concerns itself with the two expeditions of this king into Egypt, from the second of which he returns in verse 30 and on his way back to his own land (Syria) he takes out his revenge on the Jews, while at the same time he makes an affliation with the apostate Jews, “‘such as do wickedly against the covenant’. Ver. 31. “forces shall stand on his part’’,—He shall maintain an armed host in the Holy Land. “profane the sanctuary, even the fortress’’,-The sanctuary was a stronghold not only in a physical sense but especially in a spiritual sense. Jehovah is called a “‘strong tower’. “set up the abomination’”’,—‘‘Abomination”’ is the common name for an idol in the Old Testament. Appolonius, by direction of Antiochus Epiphanes, had an altar to Jupiter Olympius built on the altar of God in the temple; he also sacrificed a sow and sprinkled its broth about the temple. “that maketh desolate’’,—1i. e., that pollutes the temple. 226 DANIEL Ver. 32. “such as do wickedly against the covenant’’,—i. e., the apostate Jews. “the people who know God’’,—This is said perhaps with special ref- erence to the Maccabees and their followers. (See also Hebrews 11.34.) Ver. 33. “they that are wise’’,—Not special teachers (Hit.),. but the understanding ones who know and keep the truth of God; men like Mattathias and his five sons and Eleazar. Ver. 34. “they shall be helped with a little help’’,—i. e., perhaps by the efforts and partial victories of Mattathias and his five sons. They however soon fell under the Romans and the Herodians. “many shall join themselves unto them with flatteries’’,—The refer- ence here is to the hypocritical Jewish adherents who joined Mattathias and his sons while fortune favored them, but who before had been deserters. Ver. 35. Here is set forth some of the divine purpose in permitting the sufferings, namely, to refine, to purify and to make them “‘white’’. “the time of the end’’,—Here, says Scofield, Daniel ‘‘overleaps the centuries to the time when he of whom Antiochus Epiphanes was a type, the ‘little horn’ of Dan. 7.8, the Antichrist of the final end time, shall appear’. Others of course will have us think here of the end of Antiochus Epiphanes himself. “a time appointed’ ,—This expression wherever found in this book of Daniel refers to a time of divine appointment, whatever may be the particular period of time in question. (See verses 27,29 also of this chapter. ) Vers. 31-35 are referred by some (Bi. Os. Pf. Cox. Rob) to the Papal power, with explanations as follows: Ver. 31. “forces shall stand on his part’’,—By various ways the Roman arms stood up over the Grecian power. “profane the sanctuary’’,—This took place first on the siege of Jeru- salem by Pompey when, says Josephus, ‘“‘no small enormities were com- mitted”. It was polluted under Crassus and again when Sosius took the city. “take away the continual burnt-offering’,—This was done during the siege of the city by ‘Titus. ; “they shall set up the abomination’’,—This took place first when the Romans under Cestius assailed the temple; again under Titus when ensigns were brought into the temple and sacrifice offered to them, and again when a temple to Jupiter Capitolinus was built on the very site of the sanctuary of God. Ver. 32. ‘“‘pervert by flatteries’’,—This refers to the alluring prom- ises of the Roman magistrates. Ver. 33. “shall instruct many’’,—The primitive Christians, as they were dispersed everywhere, truly did so. “yet they shall fall’, etc..—This was all fulfilled in ten general per- secutions. 22F DANIEL Ver. 34. “they shall be helped with a Itttle help’’,—1. e., under Constantine. ; “Many shall join themselves unto them with flattertes’”,—Many did so because Christianity was made the religion of the empire. Ver. 35. “‘to refine and to purify and to make them white’’,—Many of the followers of Jesus became victims of Papal intolerance; a trying, purifying process. But the God-appointed end shall come. Apart, however, from the impression which forces itself upon one that such reference to the Papal power is quite too arbitrary as well as lacking in appropriateness, it is not at all clear by what law of exegesis the subject of verse 31 can be made to differ from that of the preceding verse with which it is intimately connected. Certainly such a change of subject must be in some degree at least grammatically possible. 36 And the king shall do according ‘place shall he honor the god of for- to his will; and he shall exalt himself, tresses; and a god whom his fathers and magnify himself above every god, knew not shall he honor with gold, and and shall speak marvelous things against silver, and with precious stones and the God of gods; and he shall prosper pleasant things. 39 And he shall deal till the indignation be accomplished; for with the strongest fortresses by the help that which is determined shall be done. of a foreign god: *whosoever acknow- 37 Neither shall he regard the gods of ledgeth him *he will increase with glory; his fathers, nor the desire of women, and he shall cause them to rule over nor regard any god; for he shall magni- many, and shall divide the land for a fy himself above all. 38 But in his price. 10Or, office "Or, whom he shall acknowledge and tn- crease with glory 3Or, shall increase glory Vers. 36-39. THE WILFUL KING DESCRIBED. It is difficult to determine to whom this section refers: It is referred by some (Zo. Wil.) to Antiochus Epiphanes with explanation as follows: Ver. 36. “magnify himself above every god’’,—-i. e., in his proud imagination. “speak marvelous things against the God of gods’’,—He forbade ay a decree the worship of Jehovah. “till the indignation be accomplished’’,—The reference here is to God's anger against the Jews in the execution of which He erin able ochus Epiphanes. Ver. 37. “‘Neither shall he regard the gods of his fathers’’,—His Grecian fathers had adopted the gods of Syria, but he established the wor- ship of Jupiter Olympius (Grecian) at Jerusalem and of Xenias (Roman) at siererte “nor the desire of women’’,— . No respect for his marriage vows. (Gei. Cal. Lut.) . No regard for the supplication of women and especially of his wives that he cease from his attacks on Jehovah’s religion. (Pol. ) 3. No love for women. (Gro.) 4. Not allow his wives to worship any god but Jupiter Olympius (Pis. ) Noe 228 DANIEL 5. No regard for woman’s love, the type of human affection for which even the worst man has some regard. (K.) 6. No pity for the sex. (Mal.) 7. No regard for the desire .of women to be the mother of the coming Messiah. 8. No respect for the worship of the goddess Venus whose temple he plundered at Elymais and which goddess the women worshipped as their favorite deity. (Zo. Mau. Der. Hav. Ges. Mic.) We rather prefer this last explanation, if the passage is to be referred to Antiochus Epiphanes, in as much as the reference placed between two expressions referring to gods leads to the thought that a deity may have been in the mind of the speaker. “[he choice lies be- tween this and the third explanation. But all is vague and uncertain. “nor regard any god’’,—1i. e., have no reverence for God or things divine. (K. KI.) . “he shall magnify himself above all’’,—i. e., above all that is divine or human. Ver. 38. “But in his place’’,—i. e., on his pedestal, the pedestal of his statue. (F. Zo. Ber. Hit. Hav. Len. Mau.) “the god of fortresses’’,—Jupiter Capitolinus to whom he began to erect a temple in Antioch and which god, it is claimed by the authorities just mentioned, was unknown to his fathers. Keil renders, “‘In the place of every god he will make war to be his god, that is, the taking of fortresses.’’ “The former view, however, is preferable. Ver. 39. “‘And he shall deal with the strongest fortresses,” etc.,— Out of a dozen different interpretations that of Keil seems the best, ‘He will deal with (proceed against) the strong fortresses with the help of this foreign god’’, “whosoever acknowledgeth him’’,—i. e., Antiochus Epiphanes. “and he shall cause them’’ ,—1. e., those who like him worship the god of fortresses. The reference is of course to the apostatizing Jews. “and shall divide the land’’,—i. e., give them land for a reward. There are some objections to referring these verses (36-39) to Anti- ochus Epiphanes: 1. The expressions “‘magnify himself above every god’ and “‘nor regard any god’’ hardly apply to a man who sought to establish the worship of Jupiter; although it is true that he did identify himself with Jupiter and so claimed divine honors. 2. History knows nothing of his not regarding the desire of women, nor of his speaking marvelous things against God. 3. The worship of Jupiter Olympius, the Grecian god, can hardly be said to be “unknown to his fathers’. Pusey observes that of the many specified characteristics of this willful king only one agrees with the character of Antiochus Epiphanes. Those who find in verses 31-35 a reference to the Papal power find here in these verses 36-39 a reference of course to the Pope. Pa jue) DANIEL Ver. 36. ‘do according to his will’’,—The Pope claimed absolute sway over earthly rulers, “magnify himself above every god’’,—Civil rulers claimed divine honors and were sometimes called ‘‘gods’’, and the Pope claimed to be above them. “speak marvelous things against the God of gods’’,—1i. e., by claiming equality with God. | He is called, ‘‘“Our Lord God, the Pope’. The words of the 95th Psalm are applied to him on the day of his consecration in St. Peter’s. Ver. 37. “‘Netther shall he regard the gods of his fathers’’,——He puts the Church above the word of God, imports paganism into worship (holy water), and takes his title, Pontifex, from the high-priest of ancient Roman idolatry. “not regard the desire of women’’,—The Pope doesn’t marry and claims it to be unlawful for ministers to do so. (I Tim. 4.3.) “nor regatd any god’’,—This is true whether “‘god’’ denotes the civil ruler or Jehovah. ; _— Ver, 38. “he shall honor the god of fortresses’’,—The word, it is said, denotes “‘god-protectors’’, and as such they worship Mary and _ the saints. “They impose trust in relics of the saints and claim they afford them divine protection. “honor with gold and silver’, etc.—The shrines of the tutelary saints and the images of the Virgin are adorned with costly offerings. “divide the land for a price’’,—The choicest lands have been appro- priated for the Church and the priests and their ministers have been given glory and honor. Inasmuch as verses 31-35 cannot very properly, as we have seen, be applied to the Papal power, it follows that these verses, 36-39, can with no more propriety be referred to the Pope. At any rate the impartial scholar cannot but feel that any explanation which endeavors to apply them to the Pope must be necessarily somewhat warped and exaggerated, and as between the Pope and Antiochus Epiphanes the words are far more applicable to the latter than to the former. By others again (Gab. Sco. Mor.) the verses (36-39) are referred to the final Antichrist, with explanation as follows: He is self-willed; he will exalt himself “above every god”, and “‘speak marvelous things against the God of gods’. (II Thess. 2.) “Neither shall he regard the gods of his fathers’’,—This is the read- ing of our text and would seem to imply that his fathers were heathen and Gentile, which Scofield seems to think accords with Dan. 9.26 which prophecy was fulfilled by the Gentile armies of Rome. According to the reading of the Authorized Version, ““God of his fathers’, the reference would be to Jehovah the God of the Jews, the Antichrist being as many think a Jew. He will not regard Jesus Christ who is the desire of every Jewish woman. He will honor a “‘foreign god’. “To whom this foreign god refers is unknown. Gaebelein thinks it refers to the first beast of Rev. 13. 230 DANIEL “The Antichrist’, says Scofield, “is an apostate from Christianity, not from Judaism. Verses 38-45 describe his career. He substitutes the “god of forces’ (i. e., the forces of nature) for the true god, and soon presents himself as that god (II Thess. 2.3,4).” 40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south ‘contend with him; and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass through. 41 He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall be delivered out of his hand: Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon. 42 He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries; and the land of Egypt shall not escape. 43 But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; and the Libyans and the Ethiop- ians shall be at his steps. 44 But tid- ings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him; and he shall go forth with great fury to destroy and "utterly to sweep away many. 45 And he shall plant the tents of his palace “between the sea and the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him. Heb. push at "Heb. to devote many 3Or, between the seas at Vers. 40-45. i It is equally difficult and even more so to know to whom these verses apply. 1. Some refer them to Antiochus Epiphanes and make them a resume of verses 22-30. (F. Ew. Der. Len. Mau. Hit. Kam.) (a) Verse 40 a resume of the first expedition in verses 22-25. (b) Verse 41 a resume of the former invasion of Judea in verse 28. (c) Verses 42, 43 a resume of the second and third expeditions in verses 23, 24, 29 and 30. ; If only two expeditions into Egypt are admitted the refer- ence would be to the first one in verses 22-25, and the second one in verses 29 and 30. 2. Others refer them also to Antiochus Epiphanes but make them an THE MARTIAL CAREER OF THE WILFUL KING. account of another and separate expedition into Egypt. (St. Zo. Ju. Wil.) Ver. 40. “the time of the end’’,—This, it would seem, must refer to the same time as that mentioned in verse 35. “the king of the south’’,—If the third expedition into Egypt just mentioned be admitted the king here mentioned is Euergetes, called Phys- con, but if we have here a resume of the first expedition the king in ques- tion is Philometor. “contend with him’’,—The Hebrew is “‘push at him’’, the king of the south being the aggressor. “the king of the north’’,—1i. e., Antiochus Epiphanes. “he shall enter into the countties’’,—1i.*e., the countries adjoining Egypt through which his march would lead him, Coele-Syria, Palestine. Ver. 41. “‘the glorious land’ ,—1. e., Palestine. “Edom and Moab and Ammon’’,—The allies of Antiochus Epiph- anes against the Jews and the leading representatives of tribal hostility to the theocracy. Zoi DANIEL Ver. 43. “‘the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps’’,— i. e., as enforced auxiliaries. Ver. 44. This verse refers to the insurrection probably of the Par- thians in Persia and the Armenians against whom, returning, he directed an expedition shortly before he died. Ver. 45. “the tents of his palace’’,—1. e., his palatial tents. “the sea’’,—1. e., the Mediterranean. “the glorious, holy mountain’’,—1i. e., Mount Zion. “he shall come to his end’’,—He died in the Persian town. of Tabae a year or so after his campaign against the Parthians and the Armenians. Keil says these verses cannot refer to a resume because of the expres- sion, ‘‘at the end of the time’’, and because some new features are intro- duced. Whether this last expedition (if made) was a fourth or a third depends on whether verses 22-25 compose two or one expedition. If a last expedition be admitted it is preferably a third. Wiessler in Schaff- Hertzog says he made four expeditions, in the last of which he was stopped by the Romans, and on returning from which he stopped the worship of Jehovah and built the idol altar in the temple. Then came the victories of Mattathias and the Maccabees and his death in Tabae. History, neither Livy, Polybius, Appian, Justyn, Maccabean books, nor Josephus, knows nothing about such a last expedition. Porphry alone mentions it and on the strength of his statement alone it is accepted by a goodly number of commentators. (K. St. Au. Fu. Jer. Wie.) Stuart says that all histories of Antiochus Epiphanes are mere scraps (and this is true) and that since Daniel’s accuracy is admitted elsewhere, why not accept him here and take this as a true account of another expe- dition. With Stuart we are inclined to agree, if the passage is to be referred to Antiochus Epiphanes. Those who refer verses 31-39 to the Papal power and the Pope refer these verses 40-45 to the Saracens and the Turks in their crusade against the Roman empire. (Me. Br. Bul. Rob.) Ver. 40. ‘“‘the time of the end’’,—1i. e., the last times of the Roman empire. The “king of the south’’ refers to the Saracens, and the “king of the north” refers to the Turks, both of whom ‘“‘pushed against’’ the Romans, the first in A. D. 630 and the second in A. D. 1300, the “‘him’’ in both cases being the Roman empire. After Rome had conquered Egypt and Syria, the Saracens took Egypt and the Turks took Syria. Ver. 41. “He shall enter tnto the glorious land’’,—“He’’ refers to the king of the north, mentioned in the preceding verse, i. e., the Turks, who entered Palestine in 1517. Ver. 42. ‘“‘the land of Egypt shall not escape’’,—Sultan Selim took Egypt and established the government of the Turks. Ver. 44. “‘tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him’’,—The uprisings of subdued nations or invasions from other quarters 2 =_ DANIEL draw him from Egypt to Palestine. Robinson thinks that this part of the prophecy is not yet fulfilled. Ver. 45. “‘he shall come to his end’’,—The end of the hostile power under its last form is to come with the destruction of all the world powers that have set themselves in opposition to God’s people and is still future. Those who refer verses 36-39 to the final Antichrist refer of course these verses 40-45 likewise to this Antichrist, and by way of explanation say that the two kings push at him. First, the king of the south and with little success. No one knows who this king is to be. Then the king of the north will come against him, who also pushes down into Egypt, when tidings reach him out of the north and east and he returns in fury to encamp against the Holy City. Then Christ comes and this king of the north shall come to his end together with the overthrow of the Antichrist. Gaebelein says the wilful king is the personal Antichrist, the little horn of Chap. 7 is the head of the revived Roman Empire, the first Beast of Rev. 13, and the little horn of Chap. 8 is the king of the north spoken of in this Chap. 11, verse 40. ‘The personal Antichrist, he says, is the second Beast of Rev. 13. CHAPTER TWELVE 1 And at that time shall Michael stand was above the waters of the river, when up, the great prince who standeth for he held up his right hand and his left the children of thy people; and there hand unto heaven, and sware by him shall be a time of trouble, such as never that liveth for ever that it shall be for a was since there was a nation even to that time, times, and a half; and when they same time: and at that time thy people have made an end of breaking in pieces shall be delivered, every one that shall the power of the holy people, all these be found written in the book. 2 And things shall be finished. 8 And I heard, many of them that sleep in the dust of but I understood not: then said I, O the earth shall awake, some to everlast- my Lord, what shall be the “issue of ing life, and some to shame and ever- these things? 9 And he said, Go thy lasting *contempt. 3 And “they that are way, Daniel; for the words are shut wise shall shine as the brightness of the up and sealed till the time of the end. firmament; and they that turn many to 10 Many shall purify themselves and righteousness as the stars for ever and make themselves white, and be refined; ever. 4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up but the wicked shall do wickedly; and the words, and seal the book, even to none of the wicked shall understand; the time of the end: many shall run to but *they that are wise shall understand. and fro, and knowledge shall be in- 11 And from the time that the con- creased. tinual burnt-offering shall be taken 5 Then I, Daniel, looked, and, be- away, and the abomination that maketh hold, there stood other two, the one on desolate set up, there shall be a thou- the brink of the river on this side, and sand two hundred and ninety days. 12 the other on the brink of the river on Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh that side. 6 And one said to the man to the thousand three hundred and five clothed in linen, who was above the and thirty days. 13 But go thou thy waters of the river, How long shall it way till the end be; for thou shalt rest, be to the end of these wonders? 7 And and shalt stand in thy lot, at the end of I heard the man clothed in linen, who the days. 1Or, abhorrence 3Or, latter end *Or, the teachers Vers. 1-13. “TRIBULATION AND RESURRECTION. Ver. 1. “And at that time’’,—If somewhere in the preceding chap- ter the transition has been made to the times of the final Antichrist, whether Zoe DANIEL it be at verse 35 (Gab.) or at verse 40 (K.), then the reference in our expression here refers to the time just indicated in the preceding verse, i. e., insChap. el 349, Zoeckler, who refers all of Chap. 11.21-45 to Antiochus Epiphanes, makes of course the same connection, referring it to the time (Chap. 11.45) when judgment shall overtake the impious oppressor, Antiochus Epiph- anes, and when he shall come to his end “without a helper’. He says that nearly all recent expositors have so contended, and for three reasons: (1) The conjunction “‘and”’ connects this new designation of time intimately with the preceding. (2) It is impossible to regard the words “at that time’’ otherwise than as a reference to the time indicated in the context immediately pre- ceding. (3) ‘The time referred to is immediately afterwards characterized as a time of trouble, which shows with sufficient clearness that the reference is to the period of persecution under Antiochus Epiphanes as heretofore described. But while Zoeckler is right as to the connection, he must be wrong as to the content and reference of one or the other of these sections. While . the words of that section may with propriety be referred to Antiochus Epiphanes, those of this chapter surely cannot be so referred. (K. Hav.) The statement regarding the time of trouble is far too strong for such a period, while the promised deliverance of Daniel’s people does not accord with the facts of the Syrian oppression. Now there is no doubt whatever that the first three verses of Chap. 12 refer to “‘the time of the end” in the sense of the final end-time. This being so, the transition from the narrative concerning Antiochus Epiphanes must be made somewhere, because there is likewise no doubt that verse 21 of Chap. 11 the narrative takes up the history of this king of Syria. Gaebelein says the transition is at Chap. 11.35. He says verse 35 calls our attention to “the time of the end’’ and verse 36 transports us into it, and between them is the long unreckoned period of time. Keil admits that the close connection made by the conjunction “‘and”’ will not admit of any break between the chapters, and he makes the tran- sition at Chap. 11.40, which he says introduces “‘the time of the end” when the final hostile power, the final Antichrist, rises up to subdue the whole world, sets up his camp in the Holy Land, to destroy many in great anger and to utterly uproot them. Most expositors maintain that from Chap. 11.21 on to the end of the chapter the reference is primarily to Antiochus Epiphanes, but that the final Antichrist is the antitypical reference, while of course, in a sense, it points to whatever other antichrists there may have been along the way, inasmuch as John says there are many antichrists. [his is doubtless true, if the entire section (verses 21-45) be referred to this Syrian ruler, and it would be accordingly true of whatever portion of this section precedes the point of transition (if one is to be made) to the direct and primary reference to the final Antichrist. Zoeckler escapes, as he thinks, the difficulty suggested above, by his close connection of the two chapters, by making the transition between the chapters. [his might be allowable if he did not find in the first verses 234 DANIEL of Chap. 12 a direct reference to the troubles under Antiochus Epiphanes. What we contend is that these verses can in no way refer to the time of this king, and Fausset must likewise be wrong when he explains the words, “at that time’ as ‘‘typically, towards the close of the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes; antitypically, the time when Antichrist is to be destroyed at Christ’s second coming’’. We are inclined to think there is little difference as to where the tran- sition is made, although perhaps the one at Chap. 11.35 is to be preferred. But wherever it is put it must be something analogous to that found in the eschatological discourse of Christ in Matt. 24.29 and Mk. 13.24, and the transition here, as there, seems to stand as a connecting link between the near and the far distant application of the prediction. “shall Michael stand up’’,—Michael is the prince of the angels, Israel’s protector. The reference here is not to Christ, as Calvin and later Havernick, in accord with some of the older commentators suppose; the latter insisting that the reference is to the first appearance of Christ. He is, however, an archangel, and not the Lord Jesus, from whom he is distinguished in Jude 9. In what particular way Michael executes the judgment committed to him on this particular occasion is not for us to inquire. An angel smote in one night 185,000 Assyrians that lay encamped about Jerusalem. “a time of trouble’’,—Zoeckler, as we have seen, with Grotius, Chrysostom and others understand these troubles of the persecutions of Antiochus Epiphanes. Calvin, Junius and others apply them to the troubles of the Church in the times of the Gospel. Havernick understands them of the afflictions which the people of Israel endured at the destruction of Jerusalem under Titus, and which will be more fully realized at the second coming of Christ. Most expositors rightly find in them the final time of the great tribula- tion at the termination of the present course of the world. (K. F. Ca. Hof. Gab. Sco. Tor. Mor.) “at that time thy people shall be delivered’ ,—This certainly has not been true of any period of persecution which the Jewish people (Daniel’s people) thus far have gone through. Says Fausset, ‘‘the same deliverance of Israel as in Zech. 13.8,9, ‘the third part... brought through fire. . . refined as silver’. The remnant in Israel spared as not having joined in the antichristian blasphemy. This is not to be confounded with those who shall have confessed Christ before His second coming, ‘the remnant according to the election of grace’ com- posed of both Jews and Gentiles and being part of the Church of the first- born, who will share Christ’s Millennial reign in their glorified bodies. The delivered remnant will only know the Lord Jesus when they see Him, and when the Spirit of grace and supplication is poured out upon them.”’ “every one that shall be found written in the book of ltfe’’,—This is by most expositors thought to have reference to the holy remnant of Daniel’s people. (F. Au. Lee.) Says Gaebelein, ‘“These are the godly Jews, the believing remnant of the time of the end. For their sakes the days will be shortened’’. 22> DANIEL Keil and Hitzig say the reference is to the “‘book of life’’ (Phil. 4.3). containing the list of the citizens of the Messianie kingdom, and that in Isa. 4.3 it contains the names of those who reach it while living, but here in Daniel it contains the names also of those who must first be raised from the dead. Zoeckler says, ‘‘The book is the same as that mentioned in the similar passage, Isa. 4.3, and hence the book of life. It is of course not to be regarded as containing a list of living Israelites; nor, probably as a ‘record of those who shall be delivered in the decisive hour and be permitted to live’. It is rather a record of those who shall inherit eternal life, a ‘list of the subjects of Messiah’s kingdom’, of those who shall stand approved in the judgment, whether they live until it transpires, or are raised from the dead to meet it, according to verse 2.” With this view Zoeckler says Hof- man substantially agrees, when he says, ‘A divine register of Israel, upon which are entered all who truly belong to Israel’’. Ver. 2. “And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake’’,—-Gaebelein says physical resurrection is not taught in this verse, because if it were it would teach a general resurrection and this would clash with the New Testament teaching concerning the resurrection. He says, “The passage has nothing to do with physical resurrection. Physical resurrection is here used merely as a type or figure of the national revival of Israel in the last day at the end of this age. They have been sleeping nationally in the dust of the earth, buried among the Gentiles. But at that time there will take place a national restoration, a bringing back from dispersion and a bringing together of the house of Judah and of Israel. It is the same figure as used in the vision of the dry bones in Ezekiel 37, and it concerns not the Gentiles but the Jewish people and is a national restoration and revival of these.’”’ However, it is practicaly unanimous that the reference is to physical resurrection. Robinson says, “‘If a resurrection of the body is not here declared, it will be difficult to find where it is, or to imagine words in which it can be.’’ But even so, Gaebelein’s fears are none too well grounded, as may be seen in quotations, from many commentators, somewhat like the following from W. J. Erdman: ‘These words do not teach a general resurrection. The more literal translation, following Tregelles, would read, ‘And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake; these to everlasting life, and those to shame and everlasting contempt’. In the light of the context it is clear that the angel is speaking of Daniel’s own people only. He is bringing together events of ‘the time of the end’, ‘the great tribulation’ and ‘deliverance of every one that shall be found written in the book’, ‘even the remnant in Mount Zion and Jerusalem’; and the other event, the resurrection of the ‘many’ from out of the totality of the dead of Israel, the resurrection of the unraised belonging to some distant and undefined day.” Now if the reference is to a resurrection of the physically dead, then, if the last part of the preceding chapter and these words as well are to be referred to the time of Antiochus Epiphanes, Daniel either, (1) thought it was going to take place right after the trouble under Antiochus Epiphanes, and missed tt, as Hitzig, Bertholdt and other rationalistic interpreters say he did; or, 236 DANIEL (2) he projected his vision onward to the period of resurrection which is still future. This latter view is of course the only acceptable one and the transition is to be found after the manner already noted. Now if the resurrection is a shee future one, to what resurrection does it refer? I. To the general resurrection at the end of all things. (C. Zo. Au. KI. Zu. St. Hav. Hof. Aug.) But the connection between the two verses is so close that it would seem they must go together, and then, according to the view now under scrutiny, the time of trouble, at the end of which all whose names are in the book are to be delivered, would be at the same time with this general resurrection, 1. e., just before the end of all time. But this will hardly do. It would mean that Daniel’s people were to continue in bad straits as long as the world lasts and that the last years were to be the worst, and that they would only be delivered at the last moment of all time. This objection is met by some by putting a hiatus between the two verses, thus making the deliverance of verse 1 something entirely different from the rising to everlasting life in verse 2. An objection is registered against this hiatus, but to us it does not seem formidable. The objection is that it takes away from the deliverance of verse 1 its real significance. But may that deliverance not consist in the deliver- ance of the believing living remnant from the oppression of their furious foes and from the severe judgments which are to come down on unbeliev- ing Gentiles and apostate Jews as well, in which case the “book’’ would be a register of the living and not of the dead. “To those who say the deliverance of verse 1 is the being raised to everlasting life of verse 2, it is sufficient to reply that this is not, as we have seen, necessarily so. At least this deliverance must not be limited to the dead. As between the living and the dead, it would more naturally refer to the former. II. Toa partial resurrection immediately after the tribulation, and prior to the last and general resurrection, and one confined to Israel, Daniel’s own nation. (Fu. Kr. Ko. Hit. Bertholdt and the majority of writers since him.) [here would then be a hiatus, unnoticed by the angel, be- tween the rising of the good and the bad; or the content of the passage may be construed according to the translation of Tregelles, ““And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall arise; these (who arise) shall be unto everlasting life; but those (who do not arise at this time) to shame and everlasting contempt.’ Zoeckler argues for the first explanation and against the second as follows: (1) The expression, “‘many of them that sleep tn the dust of the earth’ is far too general in its character to admit of its being limited to the deceased of Israel. (2) The mention of the eternal punishment of the wicked in the closing words of the verse would be incomprehensible, and serve no purpose, if they refer only to Israelites who are to be punished eternally. (3) The “many”, which primarily implies the immeasurable extent DES, . DANIEL of the multitude of the resurrected dead (Hofmann translates ‘‘in multi- tudes’) may as well designate the entire world of the dead arising from their graves as a large fraction of it, in the same way as “many’’ in the - New Testament is frequently employed as synonymous with “‘all’”’. (Matt. 20:285:26-28: Wdohn 22s (§Gor 15372 SRore obese, EGP) (4) Even if the earlier prophetic parallels (Isa. 26.19; 66.24; Ezek. 37.1-15), actually do foretell a partial resurrection which is confined to Israel (which can by no means be proven), this will not involve that the passage before us has a similar meaning. (5) If this passage refers exclusively to a particular resurrection of the Israelites, then there is no place in the Old Testament where any sub- stantiation of the doctrine of a general resurrection may be found, and in- asmuch as the expectation of such a general resurrection of the dead is abundantly confirmed in the Apocryphal books (II Mac. 7.14), and in the New Testament (see especially John 5.28 and Acts 25.15) it ought also to be confirmed by some Scripture of the Old Testament. (6) The intimate connection between these verses and the closing ones of the preceding chapter where the troubles under Antiochus Epiphanes are set forth does not militate against the universal character of the resur- rection in question. It is evident that in the mind of the prophet that period of trial was the immediate precursor of the end of the world (!?). As he viewed it, the end of the persecution by Antiochus Epiphanes and the advent of the Messiah to introduce a new and eternal period of bless- ing were substantially coincident. He saw nothing at all of the long series of years that were to intervene between these Old Testament “woes of the Messiah’ and His actual birth and incarnation, nor did he observe the many centuries between His first and second advent, between the beginning of the end and the ultimate end of all things, because it was inconsistent with the nature of prophetic vision. This last statement not only has little if any strength in it, but it certainly places the prophet in a false light. Daniel does not explicitly say that these events are simultaneous. He may not have clearly appre- hended the length of the interval, but this is no evidence that he did not know there was any. Zoeckler says that in the prophet’s mind the universal judgment upon all flesh at the end time and the judgment that came upon Antiochus Epiphanes (the first antitypical and the second typical) were identical and it is therefore arbitrary to refer the judgment here under consideration to a special judgment over the good and bad of Israel alone, and thus deprive it of its universal character. Zoeckler also says it is quite as arbitrary to refer verse 1 to the troubles under Antiochus Epiphanes and then refer verse 2 to the final time resur- rection with an immense chasm between them, of which there is no indica- tion in the text. This, however, is not unusual, after the manner of both Old and New Testament writers or speakers. Besides, Zoeckler must remember that not every one agrees with him in referring verse 1 to the times under Antiochus Epiphanes. Keil remarks that “‘the angel has it not in view to give a general statement regarding the general resurrection of the dead, but only discloses on this point that the final salvation of the people shall not be limited to 238 DANIEL those still living at the end of the great tribulation, but shall include also those who have lost their lives during the period of this tribulation.” Puller remarks that ‘‘the resurrection to shame is merely a passing observation, which might be omitted from the passage without damaging its meaning.” Certainly if the first class raised refers to the godly Israelites who were killed during the great tribulation, the second class can just as readily refer to the wicked of Daniel’s nation whenever raised. The only objec- tion of much force among those advanced by Zoeckler is the seemingly unnecessary limitation of the word “‘many’’. Keil, however, says that the word does not mean “‘all’’ and that the partitive interpretation ‘‘of”’ or “from among’ is the only simple and natural one, and therefore, with most interpreters, he prefers it. Keil, however, does not limit the resurrec- tion in question to the Jews, but thinks that the Israel here referred to con- sists not merely of Jews or of Jewish Christians, but embraces all the peoples who belong to God’s kingdom of the New Covenant. III. To a resurrection of the righteous just before Christ’s second coming, and of the wicked at the end of all time, no notice being taken by the angel of the hiatus between them. (F.) This places the resurrection of the righteous before the great tribula- tion. This is possible, of course, in as much as chronological sequence is not always necessarily observed in relating the details of an event. How- ever, it is best not to make such transpositions unless absolutely demanded, and the resurrection in question here certainly is placed by the text after the time of great trouble. Then, too, this interpretation takes the reference pretty largely away from Daniel’s own people, inasmuch as many of them will have believed by that time. The Jews do not seem to be converted until after the time of trouble or during it and their experience with the Antichrist. IV. Toa resurrection of all that sleep in the dust after the time of great tribulation; the good, at that very time (immediately after) and the wicked later at the end of all time, with no notice taken by the angel of the hiatus or intervening time. (Au. Rob. New. Chal.) According to this view the righteous, the Church, goes through the tribulation. This seemingly has more in its favor, and less against it than any of the other views, so far as the context is concerned, unless it is the first one, and this has other Scriptures which in the minds of many militate against it. Ver. 3. “they that are wise’’,—1i. e., the understanding ones of Ghapels3 373): “shall shine’, etc..—1. e., in the resurrection. “they that turn many to righteousness’’,—1i. e., convert many to justification through Christ. Ver. 4. “‘shut up the words and seal the book’’,—1. e., the whole book (K. Au. KI. Hit. Ber.), and not just the final vision of Chap. 11.2 to ape ctoe 2OaKr Fu. HaviiLen,). “shut . . . seal’’,—The reference here is to guarding it carefully; not that any one may not read it, but that it will be better studied and under- stood later. 239 DANIEL “many shall run to and fro’’",—The word means to run’ about in order to search out and investigate. It cannot therefore mean mere in- crease of travel. It might mean travel for a purpose, the result of which. is the increase of knowledge, but we prefer rather the meaning of to and fro in the sense of searching, scrutinizing the prophecy as a result of which knowledge of it will be increased. Ver. 5. “other two’’,—This refers to two angels and it is useless to conjecture who they were. Ver. 6. “‘the man clothed in linen’’,—The mighty angelic prince, who thus far had been the speaker addressing Daniel; perhaps Christ Him- self, as Keil, Willet, Gaebelein and others think. “How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?’’—1. e., how long shall the time of great trouble last? Ver. 7. “a time, times and a half’’,—i. e., after a time and two times and a half time, or briefly, after three and one-half years. (Chap. 7125) Bul a OWL 2) “when they have made an end of breaking in pteces the power of the holy people’’,—This is a second answer to the question, which substan- tially coincides with it as to the time involved. The literal of “breaking tn pieces the power’’ is ‘‘shattering the hand”, the hand being the emblem of active power. The reading of our text is supported by many strong authorities. (K. Au. Ma. Kr. Kl. Fu. Ew. Hen. Hof.) It is to be preferred to that of Zoeckler, ‘‘and when the scattering of a part of the holy people shall have ceased’’, which rendering is, however, supported by a number of strong authorities. (Zu. Len. Der. Ber. Ges. Hav. Lut. Vul. Theo.) It is true the word rendered ‘“‘shatter’’ by our text is often in prophetic usage rendered “‘scatter’’, but the former is its more literal meaning; while the metaphorical significance of ‘‘hand’’, i. e., power, seems preferable as far more natural and usual than “‘part’’. The sense is not, however, materially different in either case; the reference being to the pouring out of the last dregs of the curse on the desolated, holy people, Israel’s lowest humiliation being the precursor of her exaltation. The “they”’ of the text refers to Antichrist and his powers. Ver. 8. “‘what shall be the tssue of these things’ ,—i. e., by what event will it be possible to know that the last end has been reached? Daniel understood the main features of the vision, but not as to the times, and perhaps especially the reference with which the preceding verse closed. Ver. 9. The desire of Daniel for knowing more is thus deferred to “the time of the end’. Zoeckler thinks this was to encourage and to lead to humble submission to the Divine guidance, whose purposes cannot at first be understood. Fausset says that John’s Revelation in part reveals what here is veiled. Ver. 10. “‘many shall purify themselves . .. white . . refined’’,— i. e., by persecution and sufferings. “they that are wise shall understand’’,—Says Fausset, ‘“There is no need for fuller explanation of the time, for when the predictions so far given shall have come to pass, the godly shall be purified by the foretold 240 DANIEL trials, and shall understand that the end is at hand; but the wicked shall ‘not understand and so shall rush on to their own ruin.”* Vers. 11,12. The first two clauses refer to one and the same point of time, the three and one-half years beginning with the taking away of the continual burnt offering and the setting up of the abomination that maketh desolate. The difference in the figures has been variously explained. One thousand two hundred and sixty plus 30 equals 1290 plus 45 equals 1335. 1. If the figures are applied to the persecution under Antiochus Epiphanes, the best explanation is that of Stuart. He says the 1290 days are an exact account of the period of time stated in round numbers as three and one half years during which the abomination continued. Antiochus Epiphanes, he says, ordered the sacrifice removed June 1, B. C. 168, and Maccabaeus restored it Dec. 25, B. C. 165, 1290 days, or approximately three and one half years, and the 1335 days, that is forty-five days more, marks the death of Antiochus Epiphanes as reckoned by Klieforth and others (F. Ju. Ma. Ber. Hav. Len. Wie.) Zoeckler says the tribulation shall end in 1290, but not completely until 1335 days. Bleek. and Delitzsch say that some fact not now known in history marks the 1335 days. Zoeckler, who has contended all along that the whole prophecy should be applied to Antiochus Epiphanes, says, ““We are accordingly compelled to abandon every attempt to demonstrate an exact correspondence between the time indicated in the text and the period of Maccabean persecution.” He therefore falls back with Keil upon a symbolical interpretation of the time element. But if the time element is symbolical only, then why the changes in the figures and why the exact figures that are given? Since the exact date of the death of Antiochus Epiphanes is not known, it is difficult to be certain about this matter if the contents be referred to him. If the dates be referred to the Antichrist, as they doubtless must be, if not directly and primarily as we believe, then at least typically, the true explanation may perhaps be seen in some of the following: (a) 1260 days marks the fall of the Antichrist; 1290 days, the Noe ee of the Jews, and 1335 days, the beginning a the Millennium. ew (b) 1260 days marks the fall of the Antichrist Bet the deliverance of the Jews; 1920 days makes thirty days more during which the con- ‘sciences of these Jews are awakened to faith in Christ, and 1335 days gives forty- five more for the gathering in of the outcast Jews and the full bless- in’.e 1 tC, ) (c) 1260 days marks the fall of the Antichrist; 1290 days gives an extra month for certain judgment events as mentioned in Matt. 25, and forty-five days later (1335) the Millennium begins. (Gab.) Ver. 13. “thou shalt rest’’,—1. e., in the grave. “fat the end of the days’’,—i. e., at the end of the days just under discussion. Daniel was to go on to the end of his life, was to rest in his grave and was to rise again, to stand in his own lot, i. e., to enjoy his share of the promised inheritance. zai HOSEA bt BOOKLOF HOSEA (B. C. 785—B. C. 725) —EE CHAPTER ONE 10 Yet the number of the children of . 11 And the children of Judah and the dere HAE - Rg ees She eae children of Israel shall be gathered to- bered; and it shall come to pass that, *in gether, and they shall appoint them- the place where it was said unto them, selves one head, and shall go up from Ye are not my people, it shall be said the land; for great shall be the day of unto them, Ye are the sons of the living ; God. Or, instead of that which was said Vers. 10, 11. “THE FUTURE BLESSING AND RESTORATION OF ISRAEL. The prophecy of these two verses may be considered, as to its fulfill- ment, in any one or all of the following three ways: 1. A literal fulfillment, though in a very small degree, at the return from Babylonish captivity when some of Israel joined with Judah. 2. A spiritual fulfillment through God’s people, Jews and Gentiles, in Christ, as it is still being fulfilled today. (Romans 9.26.) 3. A complete literal fulfillment at the time of the restoration of the Jews which is still to come. (Romans 11.26.) Jezreel, Ver. 10. “children of Israel’’,—Keil refers this to the ten tribes (Israel) as distinct from the two tribes (Judah) as in verse 7; but it seems preferable with Schmoller to take the expression here as inclusive of both, scRatane them again as the passage does in verse 11. “in the place’’,—In whatever place—no place in particular. Ver. 11. “one head’’,—Interpreting this and other expressions of this verse in harmony with the three views expressed above, the reference would be as follows: under (1) Zerubbabel; under (2) Christ, the Head of His Church; under (3) Christ, under Whom the hereafter united kingdoms of Judah and Israel will be realized at their restoration in Pales- tine. “up from the land’’,—Under (1) from the land of exile, Babylon; back to Palestine; though Simcox and others make it mean up to Jerusalem from the Land of Palestine after they have come back; under (2) out of the sinful life into the Church of Christ marching on to Zion; under (3) out of the land of strangers, where they are sojourners at this time, back to ee their own land. “great shall be the day of Jezreel’’,—This is one of those obscure expressions where exact interpretation is impossible. It points back to verse 5 which has to do with a time of defeat for Israel. Under views (1) and (3) as above the day of Jezreel is called great perhaps because in that place (the valley of Jezreel) where Israel’s bow was broken, victory shall yet be achieved; and not, as Keil says, ‘‘because 242 HOSEA that defeat formed the critical occasion by which the return of the recreant Israel and their reunion with Judah was made possible’’. Under view (2), on this interpretation, the case is more difficult since there can be no local reference in the spiritual fulfillment of the words. The word “‘Jezreel’’ literally means, ‘““God sows’’, and some prefer the appellative meaning, namely, that the valley of Jezreel where Israel’s bow was broken is to become the place where God sows the seed of their renova- tion, the people being planted again in theirown land. (F.) This would of course be true, though’in a secondary sense, even though the other interpretation be accepted. Under (2) the appellative meaning would be found in the greatness of God’s sowing as He through Christ is planting the kingdom of God today. One thing is certain, the prophecy received very little, if any, fulfill- ment before the time of Christ, that is, according to (1), the first interpre- tation. The children of Israel did not go back with the children of Judah except the merest handful; they were not united under one head, the day of Jezreel, as explained, was not realized, and they did not become like the sands of the sea. Another certain thing is that the prophecy was and is being spiritually realized in Christ. “The fact, too, that Paul understood this prophecy as pointing to a spiritual fulfillment, as is clearly proven by Romans 9.26, is pretty good warrant for taking other and all similar predictions in the same way, although it will have to be admitted that many of the details of such prophecies, in many cases at least, utterly defy any reasonable interpretation when explanation is attempted in this way. It remains yet to be said that we can see no prohibitive reason for not believing that the literal fulfillment of this prophecy may not yet take place as indicated under (3), the third explanation. CHAPTER TWO 14 Therefore, behold, I will allure battle out of the land, and will make her, and bring her into the wilderness, them to lie down safely. 19 And I will and speak *comfortably unto her. 15 betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, And I will give her her vineyards from I will betroth thee unto me in right- thence, and the valley of *Achor for a eousness, and in justice, and in loving- door of hope; and she shall *make an- kindness, and in mercies. 201 will even swer there, as in the days of her youth, betroth thee unto me in faithfulness; and as in the day when she came up out and thou shalt know Jehovah. of the land of Egypt. 16 And it shall 21 And it shall come to pass in that be at that day, saith Jehovah, that thou day, I will answer, saith Jehovah, I will shalt call me “Ishi, and shalt call me no answer the heavens, and they shall more “Baali. 17 For I will take away answer the earth; 22 and the earth shall the names of the Baalim out of her answer the grain, and the new wine, and mouth, and they shall no more be °men- the oil; and they shall answer “Jezreel. tioned by their name. 18 And in that 23 And I will sow her unto me in the day will I make a covenant for them ‘earth; and I will have mercy upon “her with the beasts of the field, and with the that had not obtained mercy; and I will birds of the heavens, and with the creep- say to “them that were not my people, ing things of the ground: and | will Thou art my people; and they shall say, break the bow and the sword and the Thou art my God. LET aero ber jeare oe pa is, Whom God soweth “That is, Troubling SOr, lan 3Or, sing "Heb, Lo-ruhamah. See Chap. 1.6 4That is, My husband WHeb. Lo-ammi. See Chap. 1.9,10 5That is, My master 6Or, remembered 243 HOSEA Vers. 14-23. ISRAEL’S CONVERSION AND THE RENEWAL OF THE COVENANT. _ Ver. 14. “Therefore’’,—A conclusion drawn from the. whole pre- ceding section, 1. e., because the punishment of Israel for her sins has effected its designed end and caused her to long for God. ““Ture’’,—i. e., in a friendly sense. “Into the wilderness’’,—The land of their captivity was to be to them a wilderness for a disciplinary test (Deut. 8.2,3,15,16) where under humbling providences they were made to be humble, where in poverty they were made to be poor in spirit, etc. Ver. 15. “vineyards from thence’’,—1i. e., as soon as they arrive within the borders of Canaan, returning from the wilderness. “valley of Achor’’,—It was in this valley on the edge of Canaan returning from Egypt that Israel was deprived of the favor of God by the sin of Achan, and where this favor was restored when the camp was purged, and thus what seemed to be the valley of destruction became the door of hope. And so the very trouble of Israel’s wilderness state will be the door of hope opening to better days. “make answer there’’,—Israel will cry out in answer toward the place where the Lord comes to meet her (verse 14), thankfully acknowledging the tokens of His love and answering to them by suitable conduct. Wolfendale and all English expositors interpret the word “‘sing’’ in- stead of ‘‘make answer’, with special allusion to the song of Miriam and the Israelites after crossing the Red Sea. In this they interpret with the Authorized Version, but we prefer with Hengstenberg and all German expositors the rendering of the Revised Version, “‘make answer’’, which both adheres to the more literal meaning of the words and corresponds better to the changed character of the people. Ver. 16. ‘“‘Isht’’,—meaning literally, ‘““my husband’. She will recognize Jehovah as her true spouse. “no more Baalt’’,—meaning literally “‘my master’. She will use this expression no more because it had been perverted (verse 17) to express the images of Baal whose name ought not to be taken upon their lips. It would be possible thus to outwardly call upon Jehovah but at the same time to have Baal in their minds. Ver. 18. “in that day’’,—In the day of their conversion when they have done forever with their idols. “for them’’,—1. e., for their benefit. “covenant with the beasts’’,—Therefore the beasts are not to injure them. Said perhaps by way of contrast with verse 12. It would seem that this is a promise to be fully realized only in the Millennium. “Tite down safely’’,—1i. e., cause them to be at rest, war having ceased. Ver. 20. “shall know Jehovah’’,—i. e., experimentally, and thus be saved. Ver. 21. Wehave here the grain, the new wine and the oil, the earth and the heavens personified. 244 HOSEA | Ver. 22. The grain appeals to the earth, the earth (verse 21) appeals to the heavens and the heavens to God, and thus the grain, the new wine and the oil can answer Jezreel, i. e., Israel, ‘‘the sown of God’, planted anew by divine grace. It is to be recalled here that the appellative meaning of the word “‘Jezreel’’ is ‘‘God soweth’’. Of this prophecy we have to say like that of Chap. 1 (a) that it received only the smallest and feeblest fulfillment in the return of the Jews from exile, (b) that it was spiritually realized in fullness in Christ, the Messiah, and (c) that we see no insurmountable reason why its literal fulfillment may not yet be looked for in the promised land. CHAPTER THREE 5 afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek Jehovah their God, and David their king, and shall come with fear unto Jehovah and to His goodness in the latter days. Ver. 5. “THE FUTURE DAVIDIC KINGDOM. “afterward’’,—i. e., after the ““many days’’ of verse 4. “David their king’’,—The Messiah of course is meant, a king of the family of David. “the latter days’’,.-The Messianic days. This has not. as yet taken place, save as we look upon Israel in a spiritual way as the children of God of this dispensation, but may it not be that the Jewish nation will yet return and seek Jehovah their God. CHAPTER SIX 2 After two days will he revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live before him. Ver. 2. “THE CERTAINTY OF ISRAEL’S RESTORATION. The linking of days in this way is a method of expressing the cer- tainty of an event within the period named, and it is used here only in the sense of a formula expressing what shall certainly take place at a future day. ‘4 “raise up’’,—This can appropriately be thought of as an expression of physical resurrection used to illustrate Israel’s restoration, and it is not impossible therefore to find here a reference to the resurrection of Christ, the ideal Israel, Israel’s restoration being taken as a type of our resurrection of which Christ is the firstfruits. (F. Ho. Wo. Pu.) ‘This reference is, however, a very doubtful one and is opposed by Schmoller and the ma- jority of the best students of this text. CHAPTER ELEVEN 8 How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? I set thee as Zeboiim? my heart is how shall I cast thee off, Israel? how turned within me, my compassions are shall I make thee as Admah? how shall kindled together. 9 I will not execute 245 HOSEA the fierceness of mine anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim: for I am God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee; and I will not ‘come in wrath. 10 They shall walk after Jehovah, who will roar like a lion; for he will roar, and the children shall come trembling from the west. 1! They shall come trembling as a bird out of Egypt, and as a dove out of the land of Assyria; and I will make them to dwell in their houses, saith Jehovah. 1Or, exter into the city Vers. 8-11. These verses refer to God’s longing for Ephraim, the ten tribes, and His intention to bring them back from their dispersion. He will “not give them up”’ (verse 8) ; He will “not come in meee (the best translation of the last clause of verse 9); He will “‘roar like a lion’’ against their enemies (verse 10), and He will ““make them to dwell in their houses’ (verse 11). The same thing must be said as to the fulfillment of this prophecy as was said of those of the chapters which have gone before. JEHOVAH’S PURPOSE TO RESTORE ISRAEL. CHAPTER TWELVE 9 But I am Jehovah thy God from the land of Egypt; I will yet again make thee to dwell in tents, as in the days of the solemn feast. Ver. 9. KUTURE BLESSING AND RESTORATION AGAIN PROMISED. When this promise is fulfilled it will be in remembrance (dwell in tents) of this their new deliverance out of bondage. This prophecy had its primary, but only partial fulfillment, in the return from Babylon. (Neh. 8.17.) Those, however, who look beyond the spiritual fulfillment of this day, and see in all such passages a prophecy of literal fulfillment, refer the fulfillment of this prophecy to the time of final restoration from the present dispersion. (Lev. 23.42,43; Zech. 14.6.) CHAPTER THIRTEEN plagues? O Sheol, *where is thy de- ‘power of Sheol; I will redeem them struction? Repentance shall be hid from from death: O death *where are thy mine eyes. "Heb. hand "Or, J will be Ver. 14. THE BLESSING OF ISRAEL IN THE FUTURE KINGDOM. These words are evidently to be taken in the sense of a promise, find- ing their fulfillment, as the other prophecies noted, partially in the restora- tion of Israel from Assyria; fully in a spiritual sense in Christ, Israel in this sense being the Israel of God, the New Testament Church of Christ; and finally, in keeping with other such passages, many see the literal ful- fillment in the yet future restoration of Israel from their present dispersion and national death. ! Because the verse before and after and all the chapter. is a threat, Schmoller and others say that a promise is here unsuitable and accordingly 246 14 I will ransom them from the JOEL make the clauses of the verse all questions implying a negative answer. _ But this inference is rather forced and the reading of our text is preferred by the majority. The Septuagint translates after the manner of I Cor. 15.55, and from this Paul no doubt quoted. The verse is expressed in language allud- ing to the ideal Israel, and His victory over death and the grave, His own resurrection being the firstfruits of the full harvest to come in the resur- rection at the end. GHAP TERS FOURTEEN 5 I will be as the dew unto Israel; he 7 They that dwell under his shadow shall blossom as the lily, and cast forth shall return; they shall revive as the his roots as Lebanon. grain, and blossom as the vine, ‘the 6 His branches shall spread and his scent thereof shall be as the wine of beauty shall be as the olive-tree, and his Lebanon. smell as Lebanon. 10r, his memorial Vers. 5-7. “THE EFFECTS OF THE LORD’sS LOVE RICH IN BLESSING ON ISRAEL. Ver. 5. The dew falls copiously in the east; no plant is more pro- ductive than the lily, one root often producing fifty bulbs; while the trees of Lebanon cast down their roots as deeply as their height upwards, so that they are immovable. Ver. 6. The olive never loses its verdure, while the fragrance of Lebanon with its cedars and aromatic shrubs is proverbial. Ver. 7. The members of Israel (the first “they’’) are here distin- guished from Israel as a whole (the second “‘they’’). [he shadow men- tioned here is Israel’s and not God’s, it being necessary that we hold to the same reference here as in verse 6. They that used to dwell under Israel’s shadow, but who shall have been forced to leave it, shall return and be restored. “‘the scent thereof’’,—1. e., of Israel’s fame. THE BOOK OF JOEL (B. C. 800) The book of Joel falls easily into two divisions, Chap. 1.1 to Chap. 2.17, setting forth judgment upon the Gentiles, and Chap. 2.18 to Chap. 3.21 the promises of blessing for Israel. CHAPTER ONE 4 That which ‘the palmer-worm hath which the locust hath left hath ‘*the left hath ‘the locust eaten; and_ that canker-worm eaten; and that which the 1Probably, different kinds of locusts, or lo- usts in different stages of growth. 24d. JOEL canker-worm hath left hath ‘the cater- teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the jaw-teeth of a lioness. Sait 15 Alas for the day! for the day of 6 For a nation is come up upon my Jehovah is at hand, and as destruction land, strong, and without number; his from the Almighty shall it come. Vers. 4,6,15. THE BEGINNING OF THE DAY OF JEHOVAH. pillar eaten. Is this description in the first chapter that of a plague of real locusts in Joel’s time or is it an allegorical prediction of a coming invasion by some hostile human army? A good case can be made out for either view. In either case, however, it is an earnest or portent of a coming greater calamity. Arguments for the Allegorical View: (The Fathers, older expositors, and more recently Po. Gr. Hav. Hen. Ber.) 1. Locusts are a natural figure for hostile invaders. (See Rev. 9.3-12 where they are allegorical.) 2. The scourge is called the “‘Northerner’’, while locusts come from the south. (Chap. 2.20.) 3. The agent is described as a responsible one. (Chap. 2.20.) 4. The imagery goes beyond the effects of locusts and threatens fire, drought, plague and assault upon cities. (Chaps. 1.19,20 and 2.6.) 5. Prayer is to be made for a removal of the scourge that the heathen may not rule over them. (Chap. 2.17.) 6. The scourge was to be destroyed in a way physically inapplicable to,locusts. (@hap: 2,20.) 7. Ravages are to be remedied which locusts could not inflict, 1. e., Judah's captivity is to be turned and the land is to be recovered from the foreigners. (Chap. 3.1,17.) Arguments for the Literal View: (Sco.) 1. Joel addresses his own contemporaries and not a future generation. (Chapel sess) 2. The plague had occurred “before our own eyes’. (Chap. 1.16.) 3. He asks the old men if the like had ever occurred in their day. (Chap ile2%) 4, The description is that of a physical and not a political plague, i. e., fields stripped, seeds shrivel, drought, etc. 5. He never hints at the invariable effects of human invasion, i. e., plunder, massacre, bloodshed, etc. 6. The losses restored are the years which this army had eaten. (Chapzs2 on) 7. He tells them to hand the story down to future generations. (Chapa) 8. ‘The locusts are compared to actual soldiers—run like horses, leap like men, climb, etc.; he never would have compared a real army to itself. 9. The name ‘“‘Northerner’’ is typical of doom, a name employed always to express the instrument of God’s wrath, and so Joel applies it to his fateful locusts. 248 JOEL 10. “that the heathen may not rule over them’’ may, it is said, be translated with equal propriety, “‘that the heathen may not make satirical song about them”’, or “‘use a byword against them’’. (See margin. ) 11. The assault on cities may be applied to locusts as well as to a human army; the expression, “‘steal in at the windows’’ being more applicable to the locusts than to a human army. 12. There is little if any force in what the Allegorists say about the responsible agent, as Chap. 2.20 may also be applied to locusts. The balance of the argument we feel to be strongly in favor of the literal view, namely, that Joel was describing a plague of devouring locusts in his own day. This plague is shown, however, to have a spiritual significance, and is made the occasion for the prophecy of the day of the Lord in its two aspects of judgment on the Gentiles and blessing for Israel, this “day of the Lord’’ being more fully developed in the second chapter, where the literal locusts are left behind and the future “day of the Lord”’ fills the scene. Ver. 4. Four successive swarms of locusts are described, literally, the ‘Shearer’, the ‘““Swarmer’’, the “‘Lapper’’ and the ‘“‘Devourer’’, the same being four different poetic names for the locusts. Ver. 6. ‘“‘nation’’,—The word used for nation here is one that has in it the idea of hostility, and is here used of locusts. Ver. 15. ‘“‘Alas for the day’’,—1. e., the day then present in which the plague of the locusts was upon them. This day was so terrible that it might well be thought of as the beginning of the “‘Day of the Lord’, which Joel describes ‘as ‘‘at hand’. “the day of Jehovah’’,—This is always a day of judgment, a day of His anger. That the immediate reference is to the day then present is to be seen in the fact that in the next verse Joel returns at once to the devasta- tion of the land then going on. However in this mention of the “day of Jehovah’’ may be seen a typical significance, a reference to the worse calamities about to come on them of which the locusts were but the prelude. Verse 11 introduces an unusual drought, while verses 19 and 20 refer to the effect of the parching heat. Some refer the “fire’’ to forest fires. CHAPTER TWO Here it would seem the prophet passes into allegory and foretells a coming judgment through the invasion of a heathen army, and this he does under an imagery drawn from their then present experience of the locust plague. 1 Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and upon the mountains; a great people and sound an alarm in my holy mountain; a strong; there hath not been ever the let all the inhabitants of the land trem- like, neither shall be any more after ble: for the day of Jehovah cometh, them, even to the years of many gener- for it is nigh at hand; 2 a day of dark- ations. 3 A fire devoureth before them; ness and gloominess, a day of clouds and behind them a flame burneth: the and thick darkness, as the dawn spread land is as the garden of Eden before he ae JOEL them, and behind them a desolate wil- derness: yea, and none hath escaped them. 4 The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as ‘horsemen, so do they run. 5 Like the noise of chariots on the tops of the mountains do they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array. 6 At their presence the peoples are in anguish: all faces are waxed pale. 7 They run like mighty men; they climb the wall like men of war; and they march every one on his ways, and they one thrust another; they march every one in his path; and *they burst through the weapons, and “break not off their course. 9 They leap upon the city; they run upon the wall; they climb up into the houses; they enter in at the windows like a thief. 10 The earth quaketh before them; the heavens tremble; the sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining. 11 And Jehovah uttereth his voice before his army; for his camp is very great; for he is strong that execut- eth his word; for the day of Jehovah is great and very terrible; and who can break not their ranks. 8 neither doth abide it? 1Or, war-horses "Or, when they fall around the weapons, they &c 3Or, are not wounded Vers, 1-11, Ver. 1. The priests were to sound the alarm horn to apprise the people of the coming judgment. Ver. 2. “‘A day of darkness’’,—This is a fit image of the coming day, suggested by the sun being obscured by swarms of locusts. “as the dawn spread upon the mountains’’,—In the word “‘spread”’ is to be found the idea of beaten down, scattered, crushed by and with a mass of clouds as if in conspiracy to prolong the night. So shall come a great people and strong, bringing with them a day of darkness, etc. “here may be a reference in the expression to the shining or the yellow light reflected by the rays of the sun from the wings of a swarm of locusts. (K. Ma.) Some find the principal comparison in the rapidity with which and the wide extent over which the dawn spreads itself,—so shall a numerous people overspread the land. (Ma. Ba.) Ver. 3. The word “‘them’’ throughout the verse refers to the army before the prophet’s vision. Ver. 4. “The appearance of them’’,—i. e., of the figurative locusts, the army before the prophet’s vision. Ver. 7. “This imagery is drawn from the well-known military order in the advance of swarms of locusts. Mer 8. Ver. 9. This verse completes the description, and together with verses 7 and 8 gives us a picture which is exactly true to nature. They rush through the weapons, the darts, and their ranks are not broken. Ver. 11. “his army’’,—Scofield takes verses 1 to 10 as descriptive of the invading army and verse 11 as referring to Jehovah’s army which is to be marshaled against the invaders, the army, he says, being that which is described in Rey. 19.11-18, the battle foretold being that of Armageddon. But inasmuch as the reference is still to the day of Jehovah, even as in verse 1, there is no good reason why the antitypical human foes of Judea, of which the locusts are figures, should not be considered as the army of 250 THE INVADING ARMY FROM THE NORTH. They do not push each other out of their place. JOEL Jehovah coming in judgment upon them. ‘There can be, however, on the other hand no forcible objection to taking this army as Scofield does, if the chapter is to be referred to the still future day of Jehovah. Verso l2= k-/. The reference to the “‘meal offering’, etc., in verse 14 finds its mean- ing in that God may give plentiful harvests so that these things could once more be offered. A CALL TO REPENTANCE. Vers. 18-27. Ver. 20. “the northern army’’,—Some take this as indicative of the Chaldeans and the Syrians, while others, thinking of the day of the Lord in the end time refer it to the Gentile world-powers headed up under the Beast and the false prophet. (Rev. 16.14.) “eastern sea... western sea’’,—The Dead Sea and the Mediterranean. “stench shall come up’’,—A metaphor from locusts which perish, when blown by a storm into the sea or the desert, and emit a stench from their putrefying bodies. Ver. 23. “the former rain’’,—The Autumn rain. “tn just measure’’,—i. e., as much as the land required. Literally it reads ‘‘according to right’. “the latter rain’’,—The Spring rain. “in the first month’’,—1. e., in the month when first it is needed. Some, who take Chap. 1 as allegorical prediction, see in the four kinds of locusts the four great world-powers, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome. (FP. Hen., and the Jews in general.) THE LOoRD’s PROMISE OF DELIVERANCE. 28 And it shall come to pass after- fire, and pillars of smoke. 31 The sun ward, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: 29 and also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my Spirit. 30 And I will show wonders in the shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of Jehovah cometh. 32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of Jehovah shall be delivered; for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those that escape, as Jehovah hath said, and ‘among the remnant those whom Jehovah doth call. heavens and in the earth; blood, and 1Or, ix the remnant whom, &c. Vers. 28-32. “THE PROMISE OF SPIRITUAL GIFTS. Ver. 28. Regardless of how the previous portion of this chapter is taken, it is certain that this verse and all that follows has a remote and ultimate reference. “afterward” .—This expression is a bit more indefinite but clearly identical with the formula used by the later prophets. It come from the Hebrew word meaning ‘‘latter’’, ‘‘last’’, and refers to the last days, the days under the Messiah after the deliverance of Israel from the northern army. ‘The prophecy was fulfilled in Acts 2.17, but only in its beginning. Peter said the promise was also “‘to all that are afar off’’ (both in space and time), and thus while it has a partial and continuous fulfillment during 251 JOEL the “‘last days’’ which began with the first advent of Christ, its final and greater fulfillment awaits the “last days’’ as applied to the ultimate “end time.” “apon all flesh’’,Not merely on a privileged few, as the prophets of the Old Testament, but upon mankind generally. (F. Pu. Sch.) Some think that the Jews only were in Joel’s mind and that in his mind the heathen were to be destroyed. (George Adam Smith.) “prophesy ... dream... see vistons’’,—The three modes whereby God revealed Himself under the Old Testament. Prophesying, here, does not relate so much to foretelling events but to preaching, speaking oe wit- nessing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Ver. 30. Here begins a description of the cosmical signs preceding the day of the Lord. This outpouring of the Spirit is viewed by the prophet as connected with the great day of the Lord and as a sign of tts coming. It is described here only in a general way, its actual coming being set forth in Chap. 3. What the form of these phenomena shall be it is idle to conjecture. “Ihe allusion may be to the massacres and conflagrations attendant upon the destruction of Jerusalem as a type and earnest of the more terrible con- vulsions to occur before the final destruction of the ungodly world. Ver. 32. “‘shall be delivered’’,—As Christians were delivered from the destruction of Jerusalem by retiring to Pella, warned by the Saviour’s utterance (Matt. 24.16), which was a type of the spiritual deliverance of all believers and of the last deliverance of the “‘elect remnant’. “tn mount Zion and in Jerusalem’’,—WNot to be taken in a local sense. “as Jehovah hath said’’,—In Joel's own preceding words (F.), in (Mei). (K.), in an older writing of Joel (Ew.), in a lost prophecy ei “among the remnant’’,—There shall be among them those whom the Lord shall call. The word literally means ‘‘the escaped”’. “doth call’ ,—i. e., according to the election of grace. (Rom. 11.5.) (F. Sch., and most older and later expositors. ) CHAP TERSLHREE 1 For, behold, in those days, and in all the regions of Philistia? *will ye that time, when I shall *bring back the render me a recompense? and if ye captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, 2 I recompense me, swiftly and speedily will will gather all nations, and will bring I return your “recompense upon your them down into the valley of Jehosa- own head. 5 Forasmuch as ye have phat; and [ will execute judgment upon taken my silver and my gold, and have them there for my people and for my carried into your temples my goodly heritage Israel, whom they have scat- precious things, 6 and have sold the tered among the nations: and they have children of Judah and the children of parted my land, 3 and have cast lots Jerusalem unto the sons of the Grecians, for my people, and have given a boy that ye may remove them far from their for a harlot, and sold a girl for wine, border; 7 behold, I will stir them up that they may drink. 4 Yea, and what out of the place whither ye have sold are ye to me, O Tyre, and Sidon, and them, and will return your ‘recompense 1Or, return to “Or, will ye repay a deed of mine, or will ye do aught unto me? swiftly &c. 3Or, deed 252 JOEL upon your own head; 8 and I will sell shall sell them to the men of Sheba, to your sons and your daughters into the a nation far off: for Jehovah hath hand of the children of Judah, and they spoken it, Vers. 1-8. “THE RESTORATION OF JSRAEL AND THE JUDGMENT OF GENTILE NATIONS. Ver. 1. ‘“‘For’’,—He is now to explain in detail what he had before mentioned in general. “in those days’’,—i. e., the days to come, the “‘afterward’’ of the previous chapter. _ “when I shall bring back the captivity’’,—This shows distinctly the object of the day of the Lord, namely, the bringing of deliverance to the people of God. To “bring back’’ means to reverse, to make an end of. Ver. 2. “‘all nations’’,—Primarily those that have offended against Israel but inclusive of the heathen world in general. “valley of Jehosaphat’’,—This is the valley where Jehosaphat gained his victory over the Gentile army and is southwest of Jerusalem, and was called ‘“‘the valley of Berachah (blessing) unto this day’’ (II Chron. 20). The valley between Jerusalem and the mount of Olives on the east was first called the valley of Jehosaphat in the fourth century and was there- fore not so known in Joel’s day. Jehosaphat means “‘Jehovah judges’, and the expression used by Joel is no doubt a general term signifying the theatre of God’s judgment on the nations, although undoubtedly the imagery was furnished to Joel by that great deliverance which God gave to Jehosaphat in II Chron. 20. “execute judgment’’,—This is a much to be preferred rendering to “plead with’ of the Authorized Version. _ Ver. 3. A war custom of the heathen of that time in dealing with their captives. : Ver. 4. “render me a recompense’ ,—i. e., injure me (my people) for fancied wrongs. God here identifies Himself with His people. “what are ye to me’’,—He counts them as aliens; they have no part in Him. ‘The nations here mentioned had committed such crimes as those referred to. Ver. 5. This alludes without doubt to II Chron. 21.16,17. Vers. 7,8. Fulfilled by Alexander the Great. (Fa. Sch.) “‘Sabeans’’,—These people occupied the remote extremity of Arabia Felix and were probably a partner with Tyre in slave selling. “far off’,—The remotest nation in the opposite direction from Greece. 9 Proclaim ye this among the na- say, I am strong. 11 “Haste ye, and tions; *prepare war; stir up the mighty come, all ye nations round about, and men; let all the men of war draw gather yourselves together; thither cause near, let them come up. 10 Beat your thy mighty ones to come down, O Jeho- plowshares into swords, and your vah. 12 Let the nations bestir them- pruning-hooks into spears: let the weak selves, and come up to the valley of 1Heb. sanctify 2Or, Assemble yourselves 253 JOEL *Jehosaphat; for there will I sit to judge is near in the valley of decision. 15 The ll th ti d about. 13 Put sun and the moon are darkened, and the a Ad Nd sa a aac stars withdraw their shining. 16 And ‘ P , ; | 1 . A ye in the sickle; for the “harvest is Jehovah will roar from Zion, and utter ripe: come, *tread ye; for the winepress his voice from Jerusalem; and the heav- is full, the vats overflow; for their ens and the earth shall shake: but Jeho- wickedness is great. vah will be a refuge unto his people, 14 Multitudes, multitudes in the val- and a stronghold to the children of ley of decision! for the day of Jehovah Israel. ®That is, Jehovah judgeth 4Or, vintage *Or, get you down Vers. 9-16. THE DAY OF THE LORD IN RETROSPECT. Ver. 9. The nations are here summoned to come against Jerusalem not to destroy it but to be destroyed. “Proclaim ... ptepare’’,—This is addressed not to the Jews but to the heathen nations, 1. e., to their heralds who are to summon them to war. The word “‘prepare’’ is literally ‘‘sanctify’’ and Schmoller says it cannot therefore be referred to the heathen. But it is the same word exactly as used when Babylon was called upon to prepare war against Jerusalem (Jer. 6.4), and it is a well known fact that the heathen usually begin war with religious ceremonies. Ver. 10. “‘let the weak say I am strong’’,—-So mad shall be the fury of the world against God’s people that even the feeble will not desire to be exempted from warring against them. Ver. 11. “thither cause thy mighty ones to come down’ ,—This is a prayer by Joel. The ‘“‘mighty ones’’ are God's really mighty ones in con- trast to the self-styled mighty ones of verse 9. Keil without warrant refers these to angels. Ver. 12. “round about’’,—Not merely, as Henderson says, ‘‘round about Jerusalem’, but all the nations from all parts’ who have maltreated the people of God. Thus also in verse 11. Ver. 13. God directs the ministers of His vengeance to execute His wrath. His command is to His mighty ones. His enemies are to be cut down like ripe grain and trodden (crushed) like grapes in the winepress. Ver. 14. “‘valley of dectston’’,—i. e., the valley of judgment, the place where the Judge renders His decision. Ver. 16. “Jehovah will roar’’,—i. e., asa lion. It will be found that wherever this expression occurs it is in connection with the destruction of Gentile dominion (Jer. 25.30; Amos 1.2; 3.8; Isa. 42.13), and while it may have a near fulfillment it always looks forward to a vaster and more ultimate one. ‘ 17 So shall ye know that I am Jeho- down sweet wine, and the hills shall vah your God, dwelling in Zion in my flow with milk, and all the brooks of holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be Judah shall flow with waters; and a holy, and there shall no strangers pass fountain shall come forth from the through her any more. house of Jehovah, and shall water ‘the 18 And it shall come to pass in that valley of Shittim. day, that the mountains shall drop 19 Egypt shall be a desolation, and 1That is, the valley of acacias 294 a JOEL Edom shall be a desolate wilderness, for and Jerusalem from generation to gener- the violence done to the children of ation. Judah, because they have shed innocent 21 And I will *cleanse their blood, blood in their land. that I have not cleansed; for Jehovah 20 But Judah shall ’abide forever, dwelleth in Zion. “Or, be inhabited 3O0r, hold as innocent Vers. 17-21. ‘THE BLESSINGS OF THE COMING KINGDOM. Ver. 17. “there shall no strangers pass through’’,—i. e., to attack or defile. Ver. 18. “‘mountains drop wine... hills flow with milk’’,—Figur- ative expressions for abundance of vines, and flocks yielding milk plenti- fully. “a fountain shall come forth’’,—Here is a reference to the gushing and ever-flowing fountain of water under the temple. Thus blessings both temporal and spiritual shall issue from the house of God. “valley of Shittim’’,—This is a valley on the border between Moab and Israel beyond the Jordan, an arid desert where the Acacia (sandal- wood) grows. Ver. 19. Egypt and Edom are mentioned because of their violence against the children of Judah and are taken as representatives of the ene- mies of Israel in general. (Amos 1.11; Oba. 10; Jer. 49.17.) When Joel made this prophecy there were no symptoms whatsoever of decay on the part of the countries mentioned and yet how wonderfully has the prophecy been fulfilled. Ver. 21. “I will cleanse their blood’’,—It means to pronounce innocent, to free from guilt. Thus Judah was to be purged from her guilt (the shedding of blood), the climax of her sin which for long had been visited with judgments. Nowack and Schmoller render, ‘‘I will avenge Israel’s blood’, i. e., I will not leave unpunished the shedders of it. The first explanation, however, adheres more closely to the original meaning of the word. That Joel’s prophecy is to find its final and completest fulfillment in “‘the last day’’, in times yet to come, is the usually accepted view. As Schmoller says, ‘“The final and complete fulfillment will come only with the consummation of the kingdom at the Parousia, or Second Advent of our Lord.” 8 This explanation of the prophecy is favored by: 1. The usual two-fold application of this and similar prophecies. 2. Peter’s statement that the promise is ‘“‘unto them that are afar off’’. 3. The as yet unfulfilled verses 17 (of which the very opposite is as yet the case), 18 and 20. Says Farrar, ‘““By the expression ‘a great people’ in Chap. 2.2, the host of Assyria may be primarily meant (Isa. 37.36), but ultimately the last antichristian confederacy destroyed by special divine interposition is meant, and while Chap. 2.28 was fulfilled in earnest at Pentecost, it will be hereafter more fully fulfilled at the restoration of Israel (Isa. 53.13; Jer. 31.9,34; Ezk. 39.29; Zech. 12.10) and the consequent conversion of the whole world, (Isa. 11.9; 66.18-23; Mic. 5.7; Rom. 11.12,15), gon AMOS and while the reference of verse 16 of this last chapter may be to the victories of the Jews over their cruel foe Antiochus Epiphanes, under the Maccabees, the ultimate reference is to the last Antichrist of whom Anti- © ochus Epiphanes was but the type.”’ Scofield says, ‘“The whole picture is of the end-time of this present age, of the ‘times of the Gentiles’; of the battle of Armageddon; of the re- gathering of Israel and of kingdom blessing. The order of events is: (1) The invasion of Palestine from the north by Gentile world-powers headed up under the Beast and the false prophet (Joel 2.1-10. See Rev. 16.14); (2) the Lord’s army and the destruction of the invaders (Joel 2.11; Rev. 19.11-21; (3) the repentance of Judah in the land (Joel 2.12-17; Deut. 30.1-9); (4) the answer of Jehovah (Joel 2.18-27); (5) the effusion of the Spirit in the (Jewish) ‘last days’ (Joel 2.28,29; (6) the return of the Lord in glory and the setting up of the kingdom (Joel. 2.30-32; Acts 15.15-17) by the regathering of the nation and the judgment of the nations (Joel 3.1-16); (7) the full and permanent blessing (Joel 3.17- Lie Zech eiwalallGeviatt.20.0 20 HE BOOROE AMOS (BUG787--B'G 763) Amos prophesied in the northern kingdom (Israel). Within fifty years his warnings were fulfilled, the kingdom being utterly destroyed. The vision of Amos, however, did not stop with the northern kingdom, but included in certain respects the whole ‘‘house of Jacob’’. The judgment on Judah was fulfilled in the seventy years’ captivity, and that on Israel, the northern kingdom, in the world-wide dispersion which continues to the present day, CHAP TERY FIVE 16 Therefore thus saith Jehovah, the 18 Woe unto you that desire the God of hosts, the Lord: Wailing shall day of Jehovah! Wherefore would ye be in all the broad ways; and they shall have the day of Jehovah? It is dark- say in all the streets, Alas! alas! and ness, and not light. 19 As if a man they shall call the husbandman to did flee from a lion, and a bear met mourning, ‘and such as are skillful in him; *or went into the house and lamentation to wailing. 17 And in all leaned his hand on the wall, and a ser- vineyards shall be wailing; for I will pent bit him. 20 Shall not the day of pass through the midst of thee, saith Jehovah be darkness, and not light? Jehovah. even very dark, and no brightness in it? ‘Heb. awd proclaim wailing to such as are “Or, and skillful in lamentation Vers. 16-20. “THE DAY OF JEHOVAH, A DAY OF RIGHTEOUS RETRIBU- TION. Ver. 16. “‘Therefore’’,—God foresees that they will not obey the exhortation. The sense of the verse is that on every side there. will be dead to mourn for. 256 AMOS “such as are skillful in lamentation to watling’’,—The professional mourners who were employed at funerals. Not only these, but the hus- bandmen were called to mourn, inasmuch as there will not be enough -of the former because of the universal mourning which will prevail. _ Ver. 17. “tn all the vineyards shall be wailing’’,—As in the cities, so in the land among the vineyards where usually songs of joy were heard, there will be the death-wail. “for I will pass through the midst of thee’’,—-Said perhaps with an allusion to Exodus 12.12, as if what happened in Egypt at the smiting of the first born would be repeated. Ver. 18. “‘Woe unto you that desire the day of the Lord’’,— Because they fancied that they, the carnal Israel, and the true people of God were identical, and that this day must of course bring to them as well as to the rest of Israel deliverance from distress, as well as great joy and glory. Therefore they did not scruple to say in irony, as if in ridicule of the threatening of Amos, that they desired the day of the Lord to come. Would not that be a day of victory to Israel? But the prophet tells them that for them it would be a calamity and a day of righteous retribution. Ver. 19. ‘Therefore should they escape one danger they would the more certainly fall into another. The figures are taken from everyday life and are quite clear as to their meaning. “leaned his hand on the wall’’,—i. e., to support himself from fall- ing. Serpents often hide themselves in a fissure in the wall. CHARLERSEIGHED In this chapter, under the symbol of a basket of summer fruit, Israel is shown to be a people ripened by sin for the severe judgment of destruc- tion pronounced upon them. So many shall be the dead that in every place they shall cast them forth in silence, meaning perhaps that the terror of God and the dread of the enemy would make them afraid to speak (verse 3). “In that day’, i. e., the day of judgment mentioned by the prophet, the sun will go down at noon and the earth will tremble. The primary reference of these severe pronouncements is, of course, to the calamity that came upon Israel fifty years later, but the bold and startling language with which the predictions are clothed shows that they look forward to a vaster fulfillment tn time still future, and that the whole is a type of the judg- ments upon the ungodly people in the great day of accounts. CHAPTER NINE 1 I saw the Lord standing ‘beside the one of them flee away, and there shall altar; and he said, Smite the capitals, not one of them escape. that the thresholds may shake; and 8 Behold, the eyes of the Lord Jeho- break them in pieces on the head of all vah are upon the sinful kingdom, and I of them; and I will slay the last of will destroy it from off the face of the them with the sword; *there shall not earth; save that [ will not utterly de- 1Or, upon “Or, he that fleeth of them shall not flee away, and he that escapeth of them shall not he delivered. 257 AMOS stroy the house of Jacob, saith Jehovah. yet shall not the least kernel fall upon 9 For, lo, I will command, and I will the earth. 10 All the sinners of my *sift the house of Israel among all the people shall die by the sword, who say, nations, like as grain is sifted in a sieve, The evil shall not overtake nor meet us. ®Heb. cause to move to and fro. Vers. 1, 8-10. A VISION OF JEHOVAH EXECUTING JUDGMENT. Ver. 1. It is difficult to know whether this judgment is to be taken as upon Israel alone, or upon both Israel and Judah. If upon the former then the “‘altar’’ is in the idolatrous temple at Bethel (F. He. Sm. Gr. Sch.), but if upon both Israel and Judah, the “‘altar’’ is at Jerusalem (K. C. Fai. Fal. Hen.). The latter view makes the exegesis a bit smoother; but inas- much as Amos was a prophet especially for Israel, and the book has been largely devoted to Israel, and because of the connection (Chap. 8.14) the altar at Bethel, which is denounced in other parts of the book (Chap. 3.14; 4.4), seems to be the one in the vision, and it would therefore seem best to apply the chapter with its judgment to Israel, although there is to be sure a reference to Judah in verse 11. Ver. 8. ‘“‘the eyes of the Lord Jehovah are upon the sinful king- dom’’,—Here the difficulty begins. The “‘house of Jacob’? would seem to belong to the kingdom of Judah, and if we make “‘the sinful kingdom”’ to be Israel only, then the exception, the house of Jacob, would lie outside of the subject treated. Keil removes the difficulty by taking “‘the sinful kingdom’ as embracing both Israel and Judah in one; and there are no insuperable objections to this interpretation. Schmoller relieves the situation by saying that “the house of Jacob” is literally “‘the stock of Israel’’ and is here to be referred to the ten tribes, i. e., to Israel, and “the sinful kingdom’’ thus refers without difficulty to the kingdom of Israel alone. Perhaps the best explanation is to think of the house of Jacob before © there was any division, and the prophet here then conceives of the Jewish nation as one and says that this part of the house of Jacob, this part of the nation, the ten tribes (Israel) shall not be utterly destroyed. A remnant was to be spared for Jacob’s sake to fulfill the covenant whereby “‘the seed of Israel’’ is hereafter to be “‘a nation forever’. (Jer. 30.11; 31.36) Ver. 9. “yet shall not the least kernel fall upon the earth’’,—The Godly elect, the solid grains, are preserved while the chaff, the dust, falls through to the ground. (Rom. 11.26.) 11 In that day will I raise up the shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills tabernacle of David that is fallen, and shall melt. 14 And I will *bring back close up the breaches thereof; and I the captivity of my people Israel, and will raise up its ruins, and I will build they shall build the waste cities, and it as in the days of old; 12 that they inhabit them; and they shall plant vine- may possess the remnant of Edom, and yards, and drink the wine thereof; they all the nations that ’are called by my shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit name, saith Jehovah that doeth this. of them. 15 And I will plant them 13 Behold, the days come, saith Jeho- upon their land, and they shall no more vah, that the plowman shall overtake be plucked up out of their land which the reaper, and the treader of grapes I have given them, saith Jehovah thy him that soweth seed; and the mountans God. ; 10r, were 2Or, return to 258 ae AMOS _ Vers. 11-15. THE BLESSINGS OF THE FUTURE KINGDOM. Ver. 11. “In that day’’,—1i. e., in the dispensation of the Messiah. “the tabernacle of David that ts fallen’’,—The fallen condition of this kingdom, which occurred more especially in the time of the Baby- lonian captivity, is presupposed. (K. Gr.) The literal meaning of the word used is “‘hut’’, showing its low condition during the days of Amos and subsequently during the Babylonian captivity before the restoration, as well also as before the restoration under the Messiah. This tabernacle of David Jehovah promises to “ratse up’. This promise was but partially and temporarily fulfilled under Zerubbabel, be- cause this restoration did not include Israel, the main subject of this prophecy, while furthermore the kingdom of Zerubbabel was not an inde- pendent and settled one and of its subjects it could not be said, “‘they shall no more be plucked up out of their land’’ (verse 15). ‘The prophecy in this verse 11 certainly does turn to Judah, yet, as Schmoller says, ‘‘not so much as a separate kingdom, but only insofar as it furnishes the divinely appointed basis and point of departure for the restor- ation of the entire people’. Ver. 12. “the remnant of Edom’’,—Edom, as the representative of all heathen nations, is mentioned because of these nations they were the most hostile to Israel, and by “‘the remnant’ is expressed that part of Edom which had not already been subjugated. “called by my name’’,—This expression, wherever used, is applied only to the covenant people of God, in conformity with which the meaning here must be that the recreated kingdom shall bear sway over Edom and other heathen nations which shall in consequence become a part of the covenant people... This seems therefore to be a prophecy of the calling of the Gentiles, and as such is quoted by James in Acts 15.17. Concerning this expression Fausset says, ‘““‘who belong to me, whom I claim as mine (Psa. 2.8) ; in the purposes of electing grace, God terms them already called by his name’. The possession then spoken of here is to be spiritually realized. (F. Gr.) . (Isa. 49.8; 54.8; Rom. 4.13.) Amos shows that nothing was to be hoped for by the ten tribes apart from connection with Judah. Ver. 13. “Behold the days come’’,—i. e., when Israel is ‘“‘planted upon their land’’ (verse 15) when the Jews shall have been restored to their own land. ; “the ploughman .. . . . and the treader’’,—Such shall be the abundance of the harvest and the vintage that they can hardly be gathered before the time shall come for the preparing for the next crop. Ver. 15. “they shall no more be plucked up out of their land’’,— (See Jer. 32.41.) This is most certainly a distinct expression of the final abolition of an exile; never again shall the restored exiles be carried away by enemies. [he promise in verses 1] to 15 is to the nation as a whole. Schmoller says, “‘An unprejudiced comparison shows that the prophecy transcends the experience. This fact does not show that the threatening is unfounded, but that it has an eschatological character. ‘Ihe prophet, indeed, sees the last decisive judgment arise, but still the judgment 259 OBADIAH which came historically upon the ten tribes was not this last decisive one. The prophecy was further fulfilled when Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans, but it still awaits its complete fulfillment in the last judgment at the Parousta upon the entire body of the apostate members of the people of God of whom Israel was a type.’’ This same expositor further says that because the judgment was fulfilled in literal Israel is no sign that the promise must likewise be so fulfilled in Israel after the flesh. He with many others think of this promise as being fulfilled now in the New Testa- ment Israel. James says in Acts 15.17 that verse 12 was fulfilled in Christ, and if this be so, then in a very certain sense the fulfillment of. the raising up of the tabernacle of David ought also to be found in Christ. If this, and other prophecies like it, are to be taken literally, then we must look for a literal restoration of the Jews to the land of Palestine sometime in the future, inasmuch as it did not occur in times now past. (See ‘‘Doctrinal and Moral’’ in Lange’s Commentary under this chapter.) (He pbOOK Or OBADIAH (B. C. 586) Vers. 1-16. ' The condemnation and coming destruction of Edom together with the rest of the foes of Israel. 15 For the day of Jehovah is near mountain, so shall all the nations drink upon all the nations; as thou hast done, continually; yea, they shall drink, and it shall be done unto thee; thy ‘dealing *swallow down, and shall be as though shall return upon thine own head. 16 they had not been. For as ye have drunk upon my holy 1Or, recompense *Or, talk foolishly Vers. 15,16. “THE DAY OF JEHOVAH AND THE PUNISHMENT OF THE UNGODLY. Ver. 15. “the day of Jehovah’’,—The day in which the Lord will manifest Himself as the righteous punisher of the ungodly people. It is the day introduced in verse 8. “upon all the nations’ ,—‘‘The range’’, says Klieforth, “‘extends to a universal judgment.’ ‘‘It shows’’, says Fausset, “‘that the fulfillment is not exhausted in the punishment inflicted upon the surrounding nations by the instrumentality of Nebuchadnezzar, but as in Joel 3.14 and in Zech 2a atheslast judgment to come on the nations confederate against Jerusalem is referred to.” Ver. 16. “‘ye’’,—Some explain, ‘‘ye Jews’’, the prophet suddenly shifting his address fora moment. (F. Sm. Ma.) Others explain, “‘ye Edomites’’. (C. Kle.) By the first explanation “drunk’’ refers to the cup of affliction, being dispossessed of their goods and lands by Edom and all the nations: so shall all the heathen nations drink the same cup. By the second explanation “‘drunk”’ refers to the cup of exultation, i. e., taking 260 OBADIAH part in the wild revelry of the destroyers and so shall they drink the cup of wrath from God’s hand. ‘The latter seems preferable. 17 But in mount Zion there shall be those that escape, and it shall be holy; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions. 18 And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall burn among them, and devour them; and there shall not be any remaining to the house of Esau; for Jehovah hath spoken it. 19 And they of the South shall possess the mount of Esau, and they of the low- land the Philistines; and they shall pos- sess the field of Ephraim, and the field of Samaria; and Benjamin shall possess Gilead. 20 And the captives of this "host of the children of Israel, *that are among the Canaanites, shall possess even unto Zarephath; and the captives of Jerusalem, that are in Sepharad, shall possess the cities of the South. 21 And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be Jehovah’s. 1Or, fortress “Or, shall possess that which belongeth to the Canaanites, even &c. Or, that are among the Canaanites, even unto Zarephath, and &c. Vers. 17-21. "THE RE-ESTABLISHMENT OF THE JEWS IN THEIR OWN POSSESSIONS. Ver. 17. “‘those that escape’’,—Unlike Judah’s heathen foes of whom no remnant shall escape, a remnant of the Jews shall escape when the rest of the nation has perished. “tt shall be holy’’,—It shall be inviolable, no longer profaned by strangers. Ver. 18. The “house of Jacob’’ is the kingdom of Judah, and the “house of Joseph’’ is the kingdom of Israel, and through the burning zeal of God in them, the one shall become a “‘fire’’ and the other a “‘flame’’, the two forming one kingdom, their former feuds being laid aside. “This was but an earnest’’, says Fausset, ‘‘of the future union of Judah and Israel in the possession of the enlarged land as one kingdom. CPezeleies 7.1 0.) | Ver. 19. “And they of the South’’,—The men of Judah, who in the coming time are to occupy the south of Judea, shall also possess in addition to their own territory the adjoining mountainous region of Edom. “and they of the lowland’’,—This refers also to Judah, who in the coming time is to occupy the lowland in the west of Judea, but shall also possess the land of the Philistines, the people being here put for the land. “and they’’,—The reference is still to the men of Judah. Ephraim and Samaria formerly belonged to the Ten tribes. “and Benjamin’ ,—The other tribe composing Judah shall possess Gilead, east of the Jordan, and so the dominion returns to Judah (Gen. 49.10) and the whole land is brought back to the House of David by the two tribes who had remained true to it. (Jer. 32.44.) The ‘‘they’’ of this verse is by some referred to the Ten tribes. “This makes an abrupt and an unnatural passage from the previous subject, but it makes them possess the land that was originally theirs (Ephraim and Samaria). These same authorities then refer “‘the children of Israel’ of verse 20 to the Ten tribes also, and this seems natural because Jerusalem of verse 20 refers to Judah, the Two tribes, and thus the parallelism is the 261 OBADIAH better carried. But all things considered, the explanation we have already given is the preferable one. Ver. 20. “‘captives’’,—Those who were ‘“‘carried away’. “host of the children of Israel’’,—The twelve tribes united under Judah. “among the Canaanites’’,—In Phoenicia and western Palestine. “even unto Zarephath’’,—Near Zidon. Mentioned in Luke 4.26. “in Sepharad’’,—A district of western Asia about Lydia and near the Bosphorus. (F. Vul. Jer. Say. Che. Kle.) . There are four interpretations of the first clause of this verse: 1. “And the captives of this host of the children of Israel that are among the Canaanites even unto Zarephath, and the captives that are in Jerusalem, that are in Sepharad shall possess the cities of the South? © (He-Ma. Um, Pas Cas.) 2. ‘“‘And the captives of this host of the children of Israel shall be-~ come the Canaanites which there are even unto Zarephath’’, etc. This is the view of Kleinert, but it will hardly do to arbitrarily supply, as he does, the words “‘shall become’’ and ‘“‘there are’. 3. ‘And the captivity of this host of the children of Israel shall possess that of the Canaanites, even unto Zarephath, and the cap- tivity of Jerusalem, which is in Sepharad, shall possess the cities of the South.” GA. V..F. Sm» Hit. Sep.) 4. The rendering of the Revised Version as set forth in our text. Both the third and fourth views supply “‘shall possess’ before the words, ‘“‘even unto Zarephath’. ‘This is quite allowable, but between the two the rendering of the Revised Version is preferable. In fact, it is far more natural than either of the other views, the word “‘among’’, which it: supplies, corresponding with the word “‘itn”’ in the latter part of the verse. Inasmuch as the distribution of the land as set forth tn these verses has never taken place, tt would seem as though it ought to take place in the future. The general conception of the true Israel, the people of God in a spiritual sense, inheriting the earth may be set forth as a spiritual ful- filling of the Old Testament prophecies in general, but how such minute details as the very portions of land which the different tribes shall possess _ can be spiritualized is difficult to see. Ver. 21. “saviours’’,—This does not refer to kings, but the rather to heroes like the Maccabees. Edom is, of course, a type of Israel’s foes and of God’s last foes. Keil calls attention to the fact that the destruction of Edom and the occupation of Seir by Israel must, according to Numbers 24.18, proceed from the Ruler that shall arise out of Jacob, the Messiah. According to Amos 9.11, how- ever, not until the setting up of the tabernacles of Judah that have fallen down, and not until, according to Obadiah, on the day of Jehovah, at and after the judgment of all the peoples, will it follow. “The fulfillment of verses 17 to 21 can therefore only belong to the Messianic period, so that it began in a spiritual sense with the establishment of the kingdom of Christ on earth and proceeds with its extension among the peoples of 262 MICAH the earth, and will in this sense be fully accomplished with its final com- pletion at the second coming of the Lord. But in the literal sense it would seem, as we have shown, to call for a fulfillment which is yet alto- gether in the future. ‘THE BOOK OF MICAH (Be. C3s750——B, G5710) — CHAPTER TWO Verse bz, 13; 12 I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah, as a flock in the midst of their pasture; they shall make great noise by reason of the multitude of men. 13 The breaker is gone up before them: they have broken forth and passed on to the gate, and are gone out thereat; and their king is passed on be- fore them, and Jehovah at the head of them. THE PROMISE TO THE REMNANT. Some authorities put verses 12 and 13 in the mouth of the false prophets. (Ew. Kle. Hof. Hart.) But there is hardly sufficient ground for this view, although the words do seem a bit abrupt when put in the mouth of Micah. NHowever, the reference to the “‘remnant’’ is hardly appropriate to the false prophets, and so we prefer with the majority to refer the words to Micah. (F.K. Pu. Ma. Hen. Hit. Cas.) For a similar transition see Hos, 1.9,10. Ver. 12. “‘all of thee’’,—The restoration from Babylon was but partial, and this is of course therefore Messianic and finds its spiritual ful- fillment in the people of God of this dispensation, and its literal fulfillment, as Fausset says, in the still future restoration of Israel as mentioned in Romans 11.26. “remnant’’,—The elect remnant which is to survive all previous calamities. “Bozrah’’,—A region famed for its rich pastures. “multitude of men’’,—God can make a remnant into a multitude. Ver. 13. ‘“‘the breaker’’,—The Messiah. “they’’,—The returning Israelites. “through the gate’’,—1i. e., the gate of the foe’s city where they had been held captive. “their king’’,—The king out of the House of David, the Messiah, the “Breaker’’. “Jehovah at the head of them’’,—As in the marches in the desert. CNtm10.35; Ex; 13:21.) 263 MICAH CHAPTER FOUR 1 But in the latter days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of Jehovah's house shall be established “on the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and peoples shall flow unto it. 2 And many nations shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths. For out of Zion shall go forth *the law, and the word of Jehovah from Jerusalem; 3 and he will judge “between ‘many peoples, and will decide concerning strong nations afar off: and they shall beat their swords into plow- shares, and their spears into pruning- hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. 4 But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig-tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of Jehovah of hosts hath spoken it. 5 For all the peoples walk every one in the name of his god; and we will walk in the name of Jehovah our God for ever and ever. 6 In that day, saith Jehovah, will I assemble that which is lame, and [| will gather that which is driven away, and that which [| have afflicted; 7 and I will make that which was lame a remnant, 1Or, at the herd “Or, instruction 3Or, aMOnNg and that which was cast far off a strong nation: and Jehovah will reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth even for ever. 8 And thou, O tower of “the flock, “the hill of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, yea, the former dominion shall come, the king- dom of the daughter of Jerusalem. 9 Now why dost thou cry out aloud? Is there no king in thee, is thy coun- sellor perished, that pangs have taken hold of thee as of a woman in travail? 10 Be in pain, and labor to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail; for now shalt thou go forth out of the city, and shalt dwell in the field, and shalt come even unto Baby- lon: there shalt thou be rescued; there will Jehovah redeem thee from _ the hand of thine enemies. 11 And now many nations are assembled against thee, that say, Let her be defiled, and let our eye ‘see our desire upon Zion. 12 But they know not the thoughts of Jehovah, neither understand they his counsel; for he hath gathered them as the sheaves to the threshing-floor. 13 Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion: for I will make thy horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass; and thou shalt beat in pieces many peoples: and I will devote their gain unto Jehovah, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole 5Or,.£der. See Gen. 35.21. “Heb. Ophel ‘Or, gaze upon 4Or, great Vers. 1-13. “THE FUTURE KINGDOM AND THE REGATHERING OF ISRAEL. Ver. 1. he first three verses of this chapter are almost word for Pe ae Isa. 2.2-4. [he majority seem to think that Isaiah quoted trom icah. “In the latter days’’,—The word “‘latter’’ literally means the “‘hind- most’, the “‘farthest’’, whether of space or time—the last of the days, and © is translated by Alexander and others, ‘‘in the end of the days’. ‘The phrase according to Jewish interpreters always means the days of the Messiah. “the mountain of Jehovah's house’’,—Mount Zion in the widest sense including Mount Moriah where the Temple stood. “‘on the top of the mountains’’,—It is better to retain the literal read- ing of the margin, “‘at the head of the mountains’. Alexander translates, “high among’. It means raised and fixed above the other mountains so as to be visible in all directions. ‘exalted’’,—The reference is to a moral exultation and dignity and not to physical elevation. Kleinert insists that we have here a figurative reference to the Christian 264 ae Se MICAH Church and that the ideal significance of both sentences is proven by the parallel third member, the “‘flowing’’ being a spiritual one (verse 3) and compatible with the nations ‘‘afar off’’ staying at home. Fausset, on the other hand, declares that the restoration from Baby- lon is but a type of the restoration of Israel hereafter and that Israel, and not merely the Christian Church, is the ultimate subject of the prophecy, one of the encouragements for this contention being the unsearchable wis- dom of God’s thoughts as set forth in Isa. 55.8 as the ground for this restoration, which matter he says is again in mind in verse 12 of this puapien ‘The truth is, of course, to be found in both of these views taken together. Ver. 2. “‘mountain of Jehovah’’,—Mount Zion. “the law’’,—The word means literally, ‘instruction’, and the refer- ence is not merely to the Jewish law as such but to a rule of life from God. Ver. 3. “judge between’’,—This does not mean to “‘rebuke’ (A- V.), nor to “‘convince’’ (C. V. Coc.), but to “decide concerning’. It means to arbitrate, to decide their differences. ’ “beat their swords into plowshares’’,—The more particular reference here is to the swords still drawn against God’s kingdom. (Joel 4.10.) Ver. 5. “‘all the peoples’’,—All the heathen peoples walk in the name of their several gods, but as for the Jews in dispersion they will walk in the name of Jehovah forever. Their Babylonian captivity cured them of their idolatry, and so it seems their present dispersion must cure them of their unbelief. Ver. 6. “lame... driven away .. . afflicted’’,—-The suffering chil- dren of Israel will then after hard blows and rejection, be graciously gath- ered together again. Ver. 7. “remnant’’,—They were to be treated as the remnant to whom the promise applies and were to be made into a strong nation. “Jehovah’’,—The Messiah, of course, is meant although Micah speaks of Him as Jehovah. . “from henceforth’’,—1i. e., from the time of the fulfillment on. Ver. 8. “tower of the flock’’,—That Jerusalem is meant is proven by the next clause, “the hill of the daughter of Zion’’, which hill was an impregnable height on Mount Zion. ‘The reference is probably to the tower of David. In large pastures it was customary to erect wooden towers so as to overlook the flocks, and therefore it is a shepherd relation between Jehovah and His people that is here mentioned. (F. K. Hen.) “the former dominion . . . . the kingdom’’,—The kingdom in its former glory. Ver. 9. “Is there no king tn thee?’’—This is asked tauntingly,— there is a king in Zion but he is powerless to help against the advancing foe. “counsellor’’,—This is an explanatory synonym for “‘king’’. The first question of this verse is addressed to Zion as she sees the Assyrian army approaching. 265 MICAH Ver 10. “now shalt thou go forth out of the city’’,—1. e., upon its capture. “dwell in the field’’,—Defenseless instead of being in a fortified city. “unto Babylon’’,—Micah looks beyond the threatening Assyrian power to the captivity under Babylon. “there will Jehovah redeem thee’’,— Through Cyrus, the type of the coming Messiah. Ver. 11. ‘“‘many nations’’,—Many see here a reference to the oppres- sion under Antiochus Epiphanes. ‘This, however, seems to be opposed by “now” and by the term “‘nations’’, which can hardly refer to the mercenary collections of this king, but may very properly designate the subject peo- ples composing Babylon’s army, together perhaps with Edom, Amon, etc., who exulted in Judah’s downfall. Ver. 13. ‘Arise and thresh’’,—1. e., destroy the foes gathered by Jehovah as sheaves. CHAPTER FIVE 1 Now shalt thou gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us; they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek. 2 But thou, Beth-lehem Ephrathah, which art little to be among the ‘thou- sands of Judah, out of thee shall one come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth are from of old, “from everlasting. 3 Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she who travaileth hath brought forth: then the residue of his brethren shall return ‘unto the children of Israel. 4 And he shall stand, and shall feed his flock in the strength of Jehovah, in the majesty of the name of Jehovah his God: and they shall abide; for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth. 5 And this man shall be our peace. When the Assyrian shall come into our land, and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shep- herds, and eight “principal men. 6 And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nim- rod in the entrances thereof: and he shall deliver us from the Assyrian, when he cometh into our land, and when he treadeth within our border. 7 And the 10r, families. See Judg. 6.15 20x, from ancient days 3Or, with 4Or, princes among men remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many peoples as dew from Jehovah, as showers upon the grass, that tarry not for man, nor wait for the sons of men. 8 And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the nations, in the midst of many peoples, as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep; who, if he go through, treadeth down and teareth in pieces, and there is none to deliver. 9 Let thy hand be lifted up above thine adversaries, and let all thine ene- mies be cut off. 10 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith Jehovah, that I will cut off thy horses out of the midst of thee, and will destroy thy chariots: 11 and I will cut off the cities of thy land, and will throw down all thy strongholds. 12 And I will cut off witchcrafts out of thy hand; and thou shalt have no more soothsayers: 13 and I will cut off thy graven images and thy ‘pillars out of the midst of thee; and thou shalt no more worship the work of thy hands; 14 and I will pluck up thine Asherim out of the midst of thee; and I will destroy thy “cities. 15 And I will execute ven- geance in anger and wrath upon the nations ‘which hearkenth not, 5Or, obelisks 6Or, enemies 7Or, such as they have not heard Vers. 1-15. “THE BIRTH OF THE KING, THE DISPERSION OF ISRAEL, AND THE KINGDOM AGE. _ Lest they fall into carnal security he reminds them of the calamities which are to precede the prosperity. 266 | . MICAH Ver. 1. “‘daughter of troops’’,—She is so-called because of her numerous troops. “he’’,—i. e., the enemy, Assyria-Babylon. “smite upon the cheek’’,—The greatest of insults. “the judge’’—The one who stands at the head. If the king is meant he was perhaps not so called because that dignity was reserved for the Messiah just to be announced. Hengstenberg says the expression marks a time when there was no king. Ver. 2. “the thousands of Judah’’,—Each tribe was divided into thousands’, each thousand containing a thousand families. Ver. 3. “‘them’’,—i. e., Israel, given into the hands of her enemies. “she who travaleth’’,—‘‘This’’, says Fausset, “‘cannot be restricted wholly to the Virgin Mary (Hen.), for Israel is still given up, though the Messiah has been brought forth eighteen and a half centuries ago. But the Church’s throes are to be included, which are ofly to be ended when Christ shall at last appear as the Deliverer of Jacob, and when the times of the Gentiles shall have been fulfilled, and Israel, as a nation, shall be born ina day.”’ (Isa. 66.7-11; Lu. 21.24.) Kleinert thinks the people of Judah are meant. (See Chap. 4.8.) “then the residue of his brethren shall return’’,—The remainder of the Israelites dispersed in foreign lands both of Judah and the ten tribes. (Paik Kile. Hots Cas.) Scofield’s remarks are of interest at this point; he says, ‘‘Micah 5.1,2 forms a parenthesis in which the ‘word of the Lord’ goes back from the time of the great battle of Armageddon (closing part of preceding chapter), yet future, to the birth and rejection of the King, Messiah-Christ. This is followed by the statement that He will ‘give them up until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth’. There is a twofold travail of Israel: (1) that which brings forth the ‘man-child’ (Christ) (Rev. 12. 1-3); and (2) that which, in the last days brings forth a believing ‘rem- nant’ out of the still dispersed and unbelieving nation (ver. 3; Jer. 30. 6-14; Mic. 4.10). In verse 7 we have the ‘man-child’, the Christ of Rev. 12.1-3; in verses 8-24 the remnant established in kingdom blessing. The meaning of verse 3 is that from the rejection of Christ at His first coming Jehovah will give Israel up till the believing remnant appears; then He stands and feeds in His proper strength as Jehovah; He is the defense of His people, and afterward the remnant go as missionaries to Israel and to all the world.” Ver. 4. “‘he’’»,—The Messiah. “they’’,—Both the returning remnant and the Israelites previously delivered. “great unto the ends of the earth’’,—His kingdom becomes a univer- sal kingdom of great power. Ver. 5. “‘this man’’,—i. e., the one just mentioned. “the Assyrian’’,—Whatever Assyrian it may be, i. e., Assyria as the representative of all the foes of Israel in all ages. “seven shepherds and eight principal men’’,—An idiom for a full and sufficient number. 267 MICAH Ver. 6. “land of Nimrod’’,—i. e., Babylon. z “‘he’’,—This in both instances in this verse means the Messiah. Ver. 7. “‘as dew’’,—1i. e., quickening them by a blessed influence as dew does the grass. Ver. 8. “as a lion’’,—i. e., striking terror by her power into all ; opponents. | Ver. 9. “Let thy hand be lifted up’’,—1.e., that through it and by : it God may smite. Vers. 10,11. depend upon these because war will be no longer. “T will cut off witchcrafts’’,—1. e., the witchcraft which thou now useth. Ver. 13. The reference here is to stone and molten images and statues for idolatry. Ver. 14. “Ashertm’’,—i. e., ““groves’’,—the idolatrous symbol of Astarte. CHAPTER SEVEN “thy cities’’,—The cities where were the seats of false worship or near which the ‘‘groves’’ existed. “horses . . . . stcongholds’’,—Israel will no longer 1 Woe is me! for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grape gleanings of the vintage: there is no cluster to eat; ‘my soul desireth the first-ripe fig. 2 The godly man is perished out of the earth, and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net. 3 °Their hands are upon that which is evil to do it diligently; the prince asketh, and the judge is ready for a re- ward; and the great man, he uttereth the evil desire of his soul; thus they weave it together. 4 The best of them is as a brier; *the most upright is worse than a thorn hedge: the day of thy watchmen, even thy visitation, is come; now shall be their perplexity. 5 Trust ye not in a neighbor; put ye not con- fidence in a “friend; keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom. 6 For the son dishonoreth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; a man’s enemies are the men of his own house. 1Or, nor first-ripe fig which my soul desired *Or, Both hands are put forth for evil to do at, Ge. 3 8Or, the straightest is as it were taken from res 4Or, confidant 7 But as for me, “I will look unto Jehovah; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me. 8 Re- joice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, Jehovah will be a light unto me. 9 [ will bear the indignation of Jehovah, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and ex- ecute judgment for me: he will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness. 10 Then mine enemy shall see it, and shame shall cover her who said unto me, Where is Jehovah thy God? Mine eyes shall see my desire upon her; now shall she be trodden down as the mire of the streets. 11 "A day for building thy walls! in that day shall the ‘decree be far removed. 12 In that day shall they come unto thee from Assyria and the cities of “Egypt, and from ‘Egypt even to the River, and from sea to sea, and from mountain to mountain. 13 Yet shall the land be desolate because of them that dwell therein, for the fruit of their doings. 14 *Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thy heritage, which dwell 5Or, ix Jehovah will I keep watch ®Or, /x the day that thy walls are to be built i 1Or, boundary SHeb. Mazor Or, Rule MICAH solitarily, in the forest in the midst of fear unto Jehovah our God, and shall Carmel: let them feed in Bashan and be afraid because of thee. Gilead, as in the days of old. 15 As Peta an ae) suck neauaco unces, Cita ; ; ) j pardoneth iniquity, and passeth over the in the days of thy coming forth out of transgression of the remnant of his heri- the land of Egypt will I show unto tage? he retaineth not his anger for them marvellous things. 16 The na- ever, because he delighteth in loving- kindness. 19 He will again have com- passion upon us; he will “tread our iniquities under foot; and thou wilt tions shall see and be ashamed of all their might; they shall lay their hand upon their mouth; their ears shall be cast all their sins into the depths of the deaf. 17 They shall lick the dust like sea. 20 “Thou wilt “perform the truth a serpent; like crawling things of the to Jacob, and the lovingkindness to Ab- earth they shall come trembling out of raham, which thou hast sworn unto our their close places; they shall come with fathers from the days of old. Or, subdue our iniquities NOr, Thou wilt show thy faithfulness &c. “Heb. give Vers. 1-20. “THE VOICE OF THE REMNANT IN THE LAST DAYS. Personified Israel is here speaking through the prophet. In other words Micah speaks as the organ of the true Israel. Ver. 4. “the day of thy watchman’’,—i. e., the day foretold by thy true prophets, the day of their visitation, the day of the Lord. “their’’,—i. e., those to whom reference has just been made. “now’’,—i. e., in the day of their perplexity. Ver. 7. “I will look unto Jehovah’’,—‘‘She did so under Baby- lonian captivity’’, says Alford, ‘‘and she shall do so again hereafter when the Spirit of grace shall be poured upon her.’’ (Zech. 12.6.) Ver. 8. “rejoice not against me’’,—Israel addresses her triumphant foe. This foe is a type of her last and worst enemy. (Ps. 137.7,8.) Ver. 9. “execute judgment for me’’,—i. e., against my enemies. “bring me forth to the light’’,—i. e., out of the darkness of captivity. “his tighteousness’’,—His gracious faithfulness to His promises. Ver. 11. The anticipation of the exile goes forward and from the oe of the threatenings the prophet expects the restoration of Jerusa- em. _ “a day for building thy walls’’,—1i. e., by Cyrus. Fausset says, “‘And Tye Vale ok when the Jews shall be restored’. (Amos 9.11; Zech. “tn that day shall the decree be far removed’’,—It is impossible to discover the exact meaning of this phrase. The word ‘‘decree’’ may also mean “‘law”’ or ‘boundary’. Among the explanations are the following: The tyrannical decree or rule of Babylon. (F. Hen.) The decree of God for her captivity. (Henry.) The law in its widest and most general sense and the reference is to its abolition in New Testament times. (Kle.) The boundary of the city shall be extended, i. e., so as to contain the people flocking into it from all nations. (Ma.) The boundary of the land shall be far extended, her territory increased. (Cas.) UI 4b WNre 269 ZEPHANIAH 6. The boundary between Israel and the nations shall be removed, and so shall Israel’s exclusiveness be removed. (K.) Views 1 and 2 taken together furnish perhaps the best explanation. Ver. 12. “unto thee’’,—1. e., the restored Zion. “they’’,—i. e., the heathen peoples. “from Assyria’ ,—i. e., first of all from the nation that had been her scourge. “the River’’,—i. e., Euphrates. “from sea... from mountatn’’,—Perhaps from the Mediterranean on the west to the Persian sea on the east, and from Mount Zion on the south to Mount Lebanon on the north. Ver. 13. “They must not forget the visitation of calamity upon their land which must intervene. Ver. 14. Here personified Israel speaks again. “dwell solitarily’’,—i. e., in the midst of captivity. Ver. 15. Jehovah answers the prayer. “them’’,—i. e., Israel. Ver. 16. Here Micah speaks. “lay their hand upon their mouth” — Their speech shall be taken away by reason of astonishment. “Their ears shall be deaf’’,—They shall close their ears, “‘so as not to be compelled to hear of Israel’s successes’, (F.), “‘before the thunder of Jehovah’s mighty deeds’. (Hit. Kle.) Ver. 17. “‘close places’’,—1i. e., hiding’ places. ““thee’’,—Maurer refers this to Jehovah, but it is better with Fausset . and others to refer it to Israel. Ver. 18. Personified Israel speaks again. “remnant’’,—The elect remnant of grace. Ver. 19. The “‘us’’ and the “our’’ refer to Israel in the first person, and the “‘their’’ refers to the same in the third person. THE BOOK OF ZEPHANIAH (B. C. 630—B. C. 611) CHAPTER ONE 7 Hold thy peace at the presence of 14 The great day of Jehovah is near, the Lord Jehovah; for the day of Jeho- it is near and hasteth greatly, even the vah is at hand; for Jehovah hath pre- voice of the day of Jehovah; the mighty pared a sacrifice, he hath consecrated his man crieth there bitterly. guests. 15 That day is a day of wrath, a day 270 ZEPHANIAH of trouble and distress, a day of waste- ness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, 16 a day of the trum- pet and alarm, against the fortified cities, and against the high *battlements, AO i corner towers Vers. 7,14-16. JEHOVAH’s DAY OF WRATH COMING UPON JUDAH. Ver. 7. “Jehovah hath prepared a sacrifice’’,—The reference is to a slaughter of the guilty Jews, the Chaldeans being the guests. The day of Jehovah is called, in verse 8, “the day of Jehovah's sactt- fice’, and in verse 14 this day is described. Ver. 14. ““The great day of Jehovah ts near’’,—The day is always looked upon as near at hand. ‘The reference is here of course to the judg- ment upon Judah through the Chaldeans. “even the voice of the day of Jehovah’’,—As if Jehovah ushered in that day with a roar of vengeance. The word “‘voice’’ may as properly be taken as an interjection, “Hark, the day of Jehovah’’. “the mighty man crieth bitterly’’,—Because he cannot save himself from the power of the foe. Ver. 15. Of this verse Keil says, ‘““All the words supplied by the language are crowded together to describe the terrors of the judgment’. This Day of Jehovah is to be accompanied by terrible signs of destruction on earth and by troublous agitation of the elements. Ver. 16. “trumpet’’,—The war-signal of the besieging army. “the high battlements’’,—The corner towers or embattlements behind which the wicked people vainly imagine themselves to be secure. CHARLTER..[CWO 1 Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation that hath no *shame; 2 before the decree bring forth, “before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of Jehovah come upon you, before the day of Jehovah’s anger come upon you. 3 Seek ye Jehovah, all ye meek of the earth, that have kept his ordinances; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye will be hid in the day of Jehovah’s anger. 6 And the sea-coast shall be pastures, 10r, longing *Or, (the day passeth as the chaff) with *cottages for shepherds and folds for flocks. 7 And the coast shall be for the rem- nant of the house of Judah; they shall feed their flocks thereupon; in the houses of Ashkelon shall they lie down in the evening; for Jehovah, their God, will visit them and “bring back their captiv- y. 11 Jehovah will be terrible unto them; for he will famish all the gods of the earth; and men shall worship him, everyone from his place, even all the “isles of the nations. 8Or, caves 4Or, return to 5Or, coast-lands Vers. 1-3,6,7,11. D.RKEPENTANCE COMMANDED AND RESTORATION PROMISED. Ver. 1. “hath no shame’’,—i. e., the insolent and audacious nation. It is literally, ‘‘doth not grow pale’. “The word may be translated ‘“‘long- ing’, and thus mean there is no longing on the part of the nation to return to God. The address is to Judah. Ver. 3. “it may be you will be hid tn the day of Jehovah's anger’, 271 ZEPHANIAH —This does not express doubt as to the fact of their deliverance, but the difficulty of it. Ver. 6. Philistia, instead of a land of thick population, shall become a pasture land. “cottages’’,—The reference is doubtless to caves or dug-outs to pro- tect the shepherds from the sun. Ver. 7. “for the remnant of the house of Judah’’,—Judah after her judgment, upon her return from exile, is to inherit this pasture land for her flocks. “Jehovah will visit them’’,—1. e., in mercy. Ver. 1I. “‘worship him everyone from his own place’’,—Some read into the word ‘“‘from’’ the sense of ‘“‘going up to Jerusalem’’, and so make this the same idea as that in Micah 4.1 and Zech. 14.6, where the idea of going on pilgrimage to Jerusalem for worship is set forth. (K. Kle. Hit.) But we see no reason for taking this other than it reads, and so we refer it to worshipping God everywhere, each one in his own home land. (F. Ma. Wo.) CHAPTER THREE 8 Therefore wait ye for me, saith Jehovah, until the day that I rise up to the prey; for my “determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger; for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy. 9 For then will I turn to the peoples a pure “language, that they may all call upon the name of Jehovah, to serve him with one ‘consent. 10 From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia *my suppliants, even the daughter of my dispersed, shall bring mine offering. 11 In that day shalt thou not be put to shame for all thy doings, wherein thou hast transgressed against me; for then I will take away out of the midst of thee *thy proudly exulting ones, and thou shalt no more be haughty in my holy mountain. 12 But I will leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor temple, and they shall take refuge in the name of Jehovah. 13 The remnant of Israel shall not do in- iquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth; for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid. Heb. judgment *Heb. lip ®Heb. shoulder 4Or, shall they bring my suppliants, even the daughter of my dispersed, for an offering unto me ‘Or, them that exult in thy majesty 14 Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. 15 Jehovah hath taken away thy judg- ments, he hath cast out thine enemy: the King of Israel, even Jehovah, is in the midst of thee; thou shalt not “fear. evil any more. 16 In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not; ‘O Zion, let not thy hands be slack. 17 Jehovah thy God is in the midst of thee, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will ‘rest in his love; he will joy over thee with singing. 18 °I will gather them that sorrow for the solemn assembly, who were of thee; to whom the burden upon “her was a reproach. 19 Behold, at that time I will deal with all them that afflict thee; and I will save that which is lame, and gather that which was driven away; and I will make them a praise and a name, whose shame hath been in all the earth. 20 At that time will I bring you in, and at that time will I gather you; for I will make you a name and a praise among all the peo- ples of the earth, when I “bring back your captivity before your eyes, saith Jehovah. ®Another reading is see 7Or, and to Zion 5Heb. be silent Or, They have been sorrowful for the solemn assembly which I took away from thee, for the lifting up of reproach against her~ MAccording to another reading, thee UOr, return to ZEPHANIAH Vers. 8-20. JERUSALEM DENOUNCED BUT HER JOYFUL RE-ESTAB- . LISHMENT PROMISED. Ver. 8. This verse is addressed not to the ungodly (C. Ma.), but to the Pious Jews. “tise up to the prey’’,—i. e., like a savage beast rising from his lair greedy for his prey. (Matt. 24.28.) “gather the nations’ ,—i. e., against Jerusalem, to pour out his indig- nation upon them there (F. Kle. yy and not in the sense that those among them desirous of salvation shall fall a prey to Jehovah. (See Joel 3.2: Wer 22-and 14. 2;) It is, says Kleinert, “‘the last act of the judgment, as it is a fixed element of the prophetic eschatology, the final gathering of the heathen nations before Jerusalem in order to be destroyed in the decisive struggle’. (Micah 4.12.) Ver.9. ‘“‘For then’’,—i. e., after the punishment and as a result of it. ““peoples’’,—The peoples which have hitherto with unclean lips called upon their idols. “a pure language’ Demeter ioe ‘a pure lip’. Ver. 10. “Ethtopia’,—The southern extremity of the then known world, and here made the representatives of all Israel which shall be restored. “my suppliants, even the daughter of my dispersed’’,—The reference is of course to Israel. This rendering, which makes the words nominative and which is preferable, is supported by the context and also by Isa. 18.7. (Lut. Hit. Mar. Kle. Vul.) Others prefer the marginal reading. GKicebs D. Wo. Hen. Stra.) This puts the words “‘suppliants‘’ and “‘daughter’’ in the objective case, and thus represents the heathen as converting the Israelites dispersed among them and as bringing them to God as an offering; but this is no doubt intro- duced from the reference in Isa. 66.20. Ver. 11. “‘thou’’,—i. e., Israel. “shalt not be put to shame’ ’,—Because their transgressions will have been removed. “proudly exulting ones’’,—It is pride that brings shame, and there chad been those who boasted of their temple and their election as God’s People, etc. “no more be haughty’’,—The converted remnant shall be of humble spirit. Ver. 12. The blessed effect of sanctified affliction on the Jewish remnant. Ver. 14. The prophet in mental vision sees the joyful day of Zion and bids her rejoice at it. Ver. 15. “thy judgments’’,—When sin is renounced .(verse 13) judgments are removed. ‘The judgments are those threatened in verses DAN ays 273 HAGGAI GY Ver. 17. “‘rest in his love’’,—-The Hebrew word for “‘rest’’ is ‘‘be silent’ and the reference is no doubt to the calm, quiet joy which He has in the possession of the object of His love. Ver. 18. “‘will gather’’,—1i. e., from the dispersion. “them that sorrow for the solemn assembly’’,—i. assembly which they could not celebrate in captivity. “were of thee’’,—1i. e., of Israel, of thy origin and thy descent. “to whom’’,—i. e., to Israel. The meaning of the text as rendered is, “To whom (Israel) the burden (of Israel’s captivity) upon her (Israel) was a reproach’’. ‘This rendering follows the Hebrew more closely than does that of the Authorized Version, although either is allowable and makes practically the same sense, the reference in either case being to Israel in dispersion and longing for the solemn assembly. Ver. 20. “bring you in’’,—In the sense of Deut. 33.3,5. “captivity’’,—This word is plural in the Hebrew and is so used to express perhaps all their captivities and the different places from which they will be caused to return. “before your eyes’’,—Your own eyes shall see it, incredible as it may seem. e., the solemn THE BOOK OF HAGGAI (B. C. 520) CHAPTER TWO 6 For thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; 7 and I will shake all nations; and ‘the precious things of all nations shall come; and I will fill this house with glory, saith Jehovah of hosts. 8 The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith Jehovah of hosts. 9 The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, saith Jehovah of hosts; and in this place will I give peace, saith Jehovah of hosts. 1Or, the things desired (Heb. desire) of all nations shall come Vers. 6-9. “THE GLORY OF THE FUTURE TEMPLE. Ver. 6. The prophet calls upon the old men to witness to the insignificance of the present temple in comparison with the magnificence of the temple in the days of Solomon, and then he utters a prophecy con- cerning a temple which shall be built the glory of which shall be greater even than that of Solomon’s. “Yet once, it is a little while’’,—There are several translations of this phrase, all of which amount to practically the same thing, namely, that it would be only a little while until, etc. 1. ‘“‘One period more, a brief one it is’’,—There will be one period more, and a brief one, between the then present and the predicted 274 HAGGAI great change of the world. (Hit. Hof. Del.) This is perhaps overworking the passage a bit. 2. “It is yet a little while’’,—The Hebrew for “‘once’’ is by this view considered an indefinite article or numeral adjective. (F.C. Ew. Um. Ru. Hen. Moo. Gro. Lut. Tar.) This view is quite acceptable, as the one or two grammatical objections which have been urged against it are not at all weighty. 3. “Once more (i. e., yet once), it is a little while’’,—This is perhaps the least objectionable grammatically and is therefore to be pre- ferred. (K. Kle. Coc. Mar. Koe. Pre. Sep.) “and I will shake the heavens’, etc.,—The principal reference here is perhaps a figurative one. God’s judgments are often represented under images drawn from the phenomena of nature. (Psa. 62; Psa. 18.7-15; Isa. 13.13; 64.1-3.) The thought then of this expression is that of vio- lent political convulsions and judgments on His foes. Physical prodigies are not necessarily to be excluded. (Matt. 24.7,29.) Ver. 7. “I will shake all natigns’’,—i. e., I will judge among the nations (Psa. 110.6), shake them down until they shall lose hostility to Him. Fausset calls attention to the fact that Paul condenses together the two verses of Haggai, both 6 and 7 as well as 21 and 22, implying thereby that it was one and the same shaking of which the former verses of Haggai denote the beginning and the latter the end; and Fausset says, ‘““The shak- ing began introductory to the first advent; it will be finished at the second. Concernin® the former compare Matt. 3.17; 27.51; 28.2: Acts 2.2 and 4.31; concerning the latter compare Matt. 24.7; Rev. 16.20; 18.20 and ea ee Sir Isaac Newton says here, “There ts scarcely a prophecy of the Messiah tn the Old Testament which does not to some extent at least refer to His second coming.” “the precious things of all nations shall come’’,—The Authorized Version reads, ‘“The Desire of all nations shall come’’, and the usual idea is that this refers to the Messiah. This rendering has always been a favorite one. It is the rendering of the Vulgate, of all the Reformers excepting Calvin, of the older orthodox commentators, quite generally of the English expositors, and has more recently been adopted by Fausset. So confidently has this opinion been held that Ribera suspected the later Jews of having changed the verb to the plural so that 1t could not refer to the Messiah, after they had found that He had not, as they maintain, come to the temple and that it had been destroyed by Titus in A. D. 70. Of course this is not to be taken seriously. It is quite natural, as McCurdy says, that the Christian Church, in whose hymns and prayers this interpretation is still daily heard, should be loathe to give up a prediction which seemed to embody such a great and inspiring truth. But such an interpretation cannot as we will now see, stand the test of correct criticism. The rendering of our text, “‘the precious things’, or ‘‘the desirable things’’, is favored by the following considerations: 1. The Hebrew word means the quality of a thing rather than the thing itself, i. e., desirableness, beauty, etc. 275 HAGGAI 2. The Messiah can hardly be said to be the desire of all nations. He was “‘a root out of a dry ground”, having “‘no beauty that we should desire Him’’. (Isa. 53.2.) 3. If my “‘all nations’ the Gentiles only are meant, what encourage- ment would it have been to the Jews to build the temple, which is the matter in mind, to tell them that One was coming who was the desire of all the Gentiles, i. e., “‘all nations’’? 4. The person of the Messiah does not well connect with the expres- sion, “silver and gold’ of verse 8, which is introduced as con- firmatory of this verse 7. 5. The verb “shall come’ is plural and cannot therefore have a singular subject. This is the strongest objection to the Author- ized rendering and it is impossible to evade the force of it. Fausset prefers the old rendering, and answers the above objections to it after the following manner: 1. To the first objection he says the abstract is often put for the con- crete. A ‘‘man of desires’’ is one desired or one who is desirable. (Dan. 9.23; 10.3,11.) 2. To the second objection he replies that if the Messiah was not desired, and it is not implied that the nations definitely desired Him, yet He was the only one to satisfy the yearning desires which all unconsciously felt for a Saviour, shown in their painful rites and bloody sacrifices. Moreover, while the Jews as a nation desired Him not (to which people [sal Dove refers), the Gentiles, who are plainly pointed out by “‘all nations’’, accepted Him; and so to them He was peculiarly desirable. 4. As to the fourth objection, he thinks that verse 8 harmonizes quite as well with the Authorized Version of verse 7; in the former of which verses Jehovah says that the silver and gold are His and consequently He could so adorn this temple if He chose, but He says He will adorn it with a glory far more precious, i. e., with the presence of His divine Son, in His veiled glory first, and at His second coming with His revealed glory. “Then shall the nations bring offerings of those precious metals which ye now miss so much, (Isa. 2.3; 60.3,6,7; Ezek. 43.2,4,5; 44.4.) 5. To the fifth objection he replies that when a plural noun depends upon and follows a singular one, the verb in Hebrew may agree with the plural noun, being nearest to it. But this can be true only when the predicate may naturally be referred to the governed word as containing the controlling idea of the sentence. But this is not the case here; it is not the nations who are to come, but the desire, or as we prefer to translate, the desirable things, in which latter case there is no difficulty in explaining the plural verb. It is quite evident from the above discussion that the rendering of our text is by far to be preferred, the more especially so since it is grammatically unassailable. “The “‘destrable things’ therefore refer to the precious things, i. e., gold, gifts, etc. Most of the later commentators have adopted this view. (K.C. Gr. Ma. Co. Ew. No. Ne. Cl. It. Hen. Hof. Koe. Sep. Syr. Ros. Moo. Kle. McC. Kim. Mor. Sco. Dru.) 276 OO HAGGAI It will not, however, do to think, with Henderson, of the things desired by the nations, realized in the blessings of the Messiah’s reign. This explanation is not only irrelevant to the discourse as a whole, but it must be discarded as well because of the want of connection with the con- text. Some few authorities (Um. Ru. Hit. Fue.) take the word collec- tively and make the passage mean, ‘‘the most desirable among the Gentiles shall come’. ‘This is allowable so far as the Hebrew is concerned, but here also the connection with verse 8 fails us. Cocceius resolves the difficulty presented to the rendering of the Authorized Version by the plural verb by translating as follows: ‘‘I will shake all nations, that they may come to the desire of all nations.’ This is more admissible grammatically than Fausset’s explanation of the plural verb, but the third consideration in favor of our text, as given above, is decisive also against this rendering. “and I will fill this house with glory’’,— According to the Authorized Version this would mean the glory of Christ, who Himself was to enter into this house. [he outward adorn- ment of the temple is by this view lost sight of entirely. As Fausset says, “The first temple was filled with the cloud of glory, the symbol of God; this temple was to be filled with the glory of God veiled in the flesh (John 1.14) at Christ’s first coming when He entered into it, i. e., into Herod’s temple, performed miracles there and taught in it. (Christ ‘sat daily teaching in the temple’); but that glory is to be revealed at His second coming, as this prophecy in its ulterior reference foretells (Mal. 3.1).” According, however, to our rendering the primary reference must be to the outward and inward glory of the silver and gold adornments, in keeping with the clause just preceding. Ver. 8. “The silver ts mine, and the gold ts mine’’,— According to our text this merely means that there will be plenty of it to outshine the glory of the first temple. According to the Authorized rendering the thought of this and the following verse would be, “‘Fear not; the Messiah is coming and I will fill this latter house with His glory. ‘The silver and the gold are mine and I could make this house outshine the first with the glory of such things, but I will see to it that the glory of this latter house shall be greater than that of the first one because it will be filled with the glory of Christ.”’ Ver. 9. “The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former’’,—The view of the old rendering has just been given, but in keep- ing with our text, if we regard the immediate context the interpretation becomes self-evident. [he display of gold and silver in the first temple was mournfully remembered by the people in their poverty, but the out- ward adornments of those other days would be more than surpassed, as Calvin says, ‘‘when the nations would come, bringing with them all their a that they might offer themselves and all their possessions a sacrifice to God.” What now as to the fulfillment of this remarkable prediction? Ac- cording to the older view, that of the Authorized Version, this question has already been answered by the remarks of Fausset, whether we think of the typical fulfillment of Herod’s time or of the ultimate reference of the prophecy to the time of Christ’s second coming. 277 HAGGAI Scofield adopts this view but refers the entire passage to the end-time and says, with certain other commentators, following the interpretation of Abarbanel and other Jewish expositors, that “‘thits latter house’ can only refer to the temple yet to be built as predicted in Ezek. 43. ‘The expres- sion, “J will shake all nations’, he says refers to the great tribulation and is followed by the coming of Christ in glory. There is no great force in McCurdy’s objection to this on the ground of the prophet’s announcement of a speedy fulfillment. The student must of course make his decision here consistent with his interpretation of the remarkable pas- sage in Ezekiel just referred to. According to the rendering of our text it is quite certain that there has as yet been no literal fulfillment of this prediction. The gifts to be brought are most certainly those which are to be prompted by the spirit of reverence and piety and godly fear. “This was not the case with the adornments of the temple of Herod’s time. Herod, it is true, was a for- eigner, but his labors for the temple were prompted by worldly policy and were utterly out of harmony with the spirit of this prediction. Even so the adornments of this temple did not outshine those of Solomon's. It is doubtful therefore whether this temple has any right to consideration at all in connection with this prophecy (C. Hen. McC.), for thus in either case the prophecy will have been a failure. Of course there were some few proselytes from heathenism to Judaism in the days of the temple of Herod, and the offering of themselves with their gifts may be taken as but the merest fraction of a literal fulfillment of the promise in these verses when, according to representation elsewhere the nations of the world with their possessions shall flow unto Jerusalem. We must therefore either, (1) look for the literal fulfillment in times still future according to the premillen- narian teaching of the kingdom which is to follow the second coming of Christ, or (2) seek a spiritual interpretation of the prophecy, because the prediction is given as a revelation from God and its fulfillment is certain, and the decision must rest of course with one’s view of the entire teaching of prophetic Scripture along these lines. According to the spiritual interpretation the temple must be merged into the Church of Christ or the kingdom of the present dispensation, and the coming of the early converted Gentiles, offering themselves and their gifts, was but a pledge of the higher and more glorious fulfillment which is still to come as more and more the world is gathered into the fold of the kingdom of Christ, the inward glory of the New Testament dispensation far exceeding the outward glory of the dispensation of the Old. “in this place will I give peace’’,— Says McCurdy, following the school of spiritual interpretation, “‘It is the presence of Jehovah that sheds glory upon the Church, His temple and dwelling place, that imparts inward peace and joy and outward peace and prosperity to its members in ever increasing measure.”’ Fausset, of the older school, says, “ ‘in this place will I give peace’, viz., at Jerusalem, the metropolis of the kingdom of God, whose seat was the temple; where Messiah made peace through the blood of the cross. Thus the glory consists in this peace, inward peace and outward, between man and God and between man and man.” 278 HAGGATI 20 And the word of Jehovah came the second time unto Haggai in the four and twentieth day of the month, saying, 21 Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I will shake the heavens and the earth; 22 and I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms; and [ will de- chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother. 23 In that day, saith Jeho- vah of hosts, will I take thee, O Zerub- babel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith Jehovah, and will make thee as a stroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations; and [ will overthrow the Vers. 20-23. Ver. 21. “I will shake the heavens and the earth’’,—(See verses 6,7.) Zerubbabel may have asked concerning these convulsions, the Jews possibly believing they would lead to the overthrow of their own national existence. Ver. 22. “‘the throne of the kingdoms’’,—i. e., their governments. All other kingdoms, says Fausset, are to be overthrown to make way for Christ’s universal kingdom. (Dan. 2.44.) “by the sword of his brother’’,—The heathen nations are doubtless to be stirred up against each other and thus the wars will be mutually destructive. Ver. 23. “In that day’’,—1i. e., the period, however long, during which the political convulsions and overthrow of the nations are com- menced and completed. “T will make thee as a signet’’,—i. e., a ring with a seal on it, thus making Zerubbabel, as the representative of his people, the signet ring of Jehovah. ‘The signet being worn on the finger it was the object of con- stant regard, in all which points of view, says Fausset, “‘the theocratic people. and their representative Zerubbabel the type, and Messiah his des- cendent the Antitype, are regarded by God.”’ During the commotions God would take care of Zerubbabel. He would be building the temple and convulsions would be taking place all around him, but God promises to preserve him. Of course Zerubbabel fitly represents all the rulers of the Jews during the period within the range of the prophecy and the promise extends to all the faithful rulers who were to follow him, and thus the prophecy becomes indirectly and typically Mes- sianic, the Messiah and His kingdom being prefigured in Zerubbabel and his kingdom. (F. He..Kle. McC. Moo.) ‘Thus Fausset says, ‘‘Messiah is the antitypical Zerubbabel. He is the signet ring on God’s finger and with Him God makes the covenant in which the Israelites are included. He is the Representative and King. In Him, in Whom God hath chosen the people as His own, they are assured of safety.”’ Others say the prophecy is directly Messianic and that by Zerubbabel the Messiah is meant. We are inclined to the indirect or typically Mes- sianic interpretation. There is, of course, no doubt that the prophecy of verses 6 and 7 are directly Messianic. “Those who spiritualize the prophecy of verses 6 and 7 take the shakings mentioned in two entirely different ways. Says McCurdy, ‘The shaking of the heaven and the earth illustrates in both cases the violent commotions among the Gentiles through the divine power, but the result in the former was to be their ultimate conversion, in the other their destruction. The allusion in the former must be to all 219 signet; for I have chosen thee, saith Jehovah of hosts. THE FUTURE DESTRUCTION OF GENTILE POWER. ZECHARIAH movements in the history of humanity either before or since the coming of Christ which have disposed men to own Christ as their Lord and Sav- iour, those which changed the aspect of the civilized world and adjusted the nations for the ready reception and rapid spread of the Gospel, the conquests of Alexander and the wars of his successors, then the progress of Roman supremacy, and all subsequent events in the world’s history, political, social or moral, which have subserved the growth and glory of the Church of Christ. The view, therefore, of Keil and Hengstenberg is beside the mark, who suppose that the shaking of the nations is intended to set forth the punitive judgments of God upon the heathen, as leading them to submit themselves to His rule. As a matter of fact it was not to any great extent the judgments of God that led the heathen to accept the Gospel.”’ THE BOOK OF ZECHARIAH (B. C. 520—B. C. 487) The Book of Zechariah is designed to console and encourage God’s people still in a condition of weakness and suffering. CHAPTER ONE 7 Upon the four and twentieth day how long wilt thou not have mercy on of the eleventh month, which is the Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, month of Shebat, in the second year against which thou hast had indignation of Darius, came the word of Jehovah these three score and ten years?. unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, 13 And Jehovah answered the angel the son of Iddo, the prophet, saying, that talked with me with good words, 8 I saw in the night, and, behold, a even comfortable words. man riding upon a red horse, and he 14 So the angel that talked with me stood among the myrtle-trees that were said unto me, Cry thou, saying, Thus in the *bottom; and behind him there saith Jehovah of hosts; I am jealous for were horses, red, sorrel and white. Jerusalem and for Zion with a great 9 Then said I, O Lord, what are jealousy. these? And the angel that talked with 15 And I am very sore displeased me said unto me, I will show thee what with the nations that are at ease; for these are. I was but a little displeased, and they 10 And the man that stood among *helped forward the afflliction. the myrtle-trees answered and_ said, 16 Therefore thus saith Jehovah: I These are they whom Jehovah hath sent am returned to Jerusalem with mercies; to walk to and fro through the earth. my house shall be built in it, saith Jeho- 11 And they answered the angel of vah of hosts, and a line shall be stretch- Jehovah that stood among the se ipa ed forth over Jerusalem. trees, and said, We have walked to an 17 Cry yet again, saying, Thus saith fro through the earth, and, behold, all Jehovah pe eee Lin “cee shall yet the earth sitteth still, and is at rest. overflow with prosperity; and Jehovah 12 Then the angel of Jehovah an- shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet swered and said, O Jehevah of hosts, choose Jerusalem. : 10r, shady place "Or, helped for evil 280 ZECHARIAH Vers. 7-17. THE RIDER ON THE RED Horse. ‘THE FIRST OF TEN VISIONS IN ONE NIGHT. Ver. 8. “‘man’’,—The angel of the Lord, i. e., ‘Christ. (See verse “red horse’’,—Representing blood-shed and implying vengeance on the foes of Israel. The horses next mentioned are red in color, dark red (Ges. Zur.), brown (Hen.) bay (Ch. Koe. Moo.), the idea being that of flame colored referring to burning and destroying. Next are mentioned “‘sorrel’’ horses or ‘‘speckled’”’ (K. Um. Ma. Pe. A-V.), and then “‘white’’ horses, the last being perhaps a symbol of victory, although the significance of the color is not to be pressed. “tn the bottom’’,—The word means deep places, or shady places, and is a symbolical designation of the abyss-like power of the world in which the Jewish Church stands like a feeble and lowly shrub. Ver. 9. “my Lord’’,—Whether this is addressed to the man on the red horse of verse 8 or to the angel of interpretation (the angel that talked with me) of this verse is a difficult question to decide. Some think the “‘man’’ of verse 8, ““my Lord’’ and “‘the angel that talked with me’’ of this verse, and the ““man’’ of verse 10 and the “angel of the Lord’’ of verse 11 are all one and the same, the prophet having addressed the man on the red horse as ““My Lord’, but having perceived, when the reply came, that it was but an angel. (Sco.) Others because of the expression “‘the angel of Jehovah’’ think the man on the red horse to be Christ. The language of verse 9 seems to imply a distinction between the party addressed and the one making the reply, in case we consider the question put to the man on the red horse. The context does not furnish sufficient ground for a positive decision one way or the other; neither is it a matter of great importance which view 1s peo but on the whole we prefer that which takes the “‘angel of Jehovah’’ as Christ. Vers. 10,11. The man on the red horse answers, and then in verse 11 the attendant angels answer the angel of Jehovah. “all the earth sitteth still and ts at rest’’,—-The nations at large were dwelling in calm and severe repose undisturbed by any foe, a vivid con- trast to their own prostrate and suffering condition. This gives occasion for the following intercession. Ver. 12. “seventy years’’,—The angel of Jehovah intercedes for the land against a world at ease. It is not implied here that the seventy years were just drawing to a close, but it seemed as if the exile condition would never end although they were back in their own land. Ver. 16. “‘a line shall be stretched forth over Jerusalem’’,—A meas- uring line for extending the city. The contents of this and the following verse were all practically fulfilled under Ezra and Nehemiah. But this was only a beginning. Says Chambers, ‘“Zechariah looks down the whole vista of the future and utters predictions which do not exhaust themselves in any one period.” 281 ZECHARIAH 18 And I lifted up mine eyes, and he answered ‘me, These are the horns saw, and behold four horns. which have scattered Judah, Israel and 19 And I said unto the angel that Jerusalem. talked with me, What are these? And Vers. 18,19. “THE VISION OF THE FOUR HORNS. Ver. 18. “four horns’’,—A horn is the symbol of power and here stands for a Genttle foe. The expression “four horns’’ doubtless refers to the four cardinal points of the compass. Which ever way Israel had looked she had found threatening foes on every side. (C. F. Um. Ma. Ch. Hit. The. Koe. ) Ver. 19. Jerusalem is mentioned here merely for emphasis, while in verse 21 Judah alone is mentioned as including both the two and the ten tribes. By many the four horns are referred to the four great world-empires of Daniel (K. Ba. Wor. Hen. Kim. Jer.) The only objection to this view is not that two of the powers were still in the future, because God’s Spirit in the prophets regards the future as present, but that the Medo-Persian power did not persecute Israel, and also each succeeding world-power destroyed its successor while here the four powers are destroyed by four other powers. ‘These objections are not necessarily fatal to the view, nor need this view be taken to show that the exhaustive fulfillment is yet future. 20 And Jehovah showed me four Judah, so that no man did lift up his smiths. head; but these are come to terrify them, 21 Then said I, What come these to cast down the horns of the nations, to do? And he spake, saying, These which lifted up their horn abeinse the are the horns which have scattered land of Judah to scatter it. Vers. 20, 21. THE VISION OF THE FOUR CARPENTERS. Ver. 20. “‘carpenters’’,—The various powers which God raised up and employed to overthrow Israel’s foes. Ver. 21. “no man lifted up his head’’,—All were in a prostrate condition. CHAPTERS IW © 1 And I lifted up mine eyes, and vah, will be unto her a wall of fire saw, and, behold, a man with a measur- round about, and [| will be the glory in ing line in his hand. 2 Then said I, the midst of her. Whither goest thou? And he said unto 6 Ho, ho, flee from the land of the me, Io measure Jerusalem, to see what north, saith Jehovah; for I have spread is the breadth thereof, and what is the you abroad as the four winds of the» length thereof. 3 And, behold, the heavens, saith Jehovah. 7 Ho, Zion, angel that talked with me went forth, escape, thou that dwellest with the and another angel went out to meet daughter of Babylon. 8 For thus saith him, 4 and said unto him, Run, speak Jehovah of hosts: "After glory hath he to this young man, saying, Jerusalem sent me unto the nations which plun- shall *be inhabited as villages without dered you: for he that toucheth you walls, by reason of the multitude of men toucheth the apple of his eye. 9 For, and cattle therein. 5 For I, saith Jeho- behold, I will shake my hand over them, 10Or, dwell *Or, After the glory, he hath &c. 282 ; ZECHARIAH and they shall be a spoil to those that served them; and ye shall know that Jehovah of hosts hath sent me. 10 Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion; for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith Jehovah. li And many nations shall join them- selves to Jehovah in that day, and shall be my people; and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that Jehovah of hosts hath sent me unto thee. 12 And Jehovah shall inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land, and shall yet choose Jerusalem. 13 Be silent, all flesh, before Jehovah; for he is waked up out of his holy habita- tion. Vers. 1-13. THE VISION OF THE MAN WITH THE MEASURING LINE. ‘This chapter is a prophecy of the enlargement and security of the Covenant people. Ver. 1. “‘man’’,—There is no data for positive opinion as to these characters, but there is no reason why this man should not be thought of as the same with the one in Chapter I, i. e., Christ, here the author of Jerusalem’s coming restoration. : “a measuring line’’,—‘'The measuring line’, says Scofield, “‘is used by Ezekiel (Ezk. 40.3,5) as a symbol of preparation for rebuilding the city and temple in the kingdom-age. Here also it has that meaning, as the context (verses 4-14) shows. The subject of the vision is the restor- ation of the nation and the city. In no sense has this prophecy been fulfilled.”’ Ver. 2. “‘to measure Jerusalem’, i. e., its present dimensions with a view to its future indefinite enlargement. Ver. 3. “‘went forth’’,—i. e., from me, Zechariah. another angel’’,—1. e., one sent by the Measuring Angel. Ver. 4. “young man’’,—Zechariah, so-called because of his age. “without walls’’,—So many shall be its inhabitants that all cannot be contained within the walls. Ver. 6. Addressed to the Jews still remaining in the “land of the north’, 1. e., Babylon, a type of the various Gentile lands where the Jews had been scattered. “as the four winds’’,—To be thus scattered is a symbol of violence. The verse assigns a reason why the return was a possible one, i. e., I who scattered you can gather you. Ver. 7. “‘Zion’’,—Zion is here put for the inhabitants of Zion. “daughter of Babylon’’,—1. e., the people of Babylon personified. Ver. 8. “‘after glory hath he sent me’’,—The meaning is, after restor- ing the glory of God’s presence in Jerusalem, he (God) hath sent me (Christ) to execute judgment on the nations. “apple’’,—This refers to the pupil of the eye, the most precious and most easily injured which has therefore a double claim to protection. Vers. 10-13. These are of course purely Messianic and are by some referred to the people of God in this dispensation, while Scofield and others of his school vefer them to the “full blessing of the earth in the kingdom- a7 age. 283 ZECHARIAH Ver. 11. “‘many nations’’,—This was true to some extent upon their return from exile, but in Messianic times, whether now or in the future, the kingdom of God will not be confined to the Jews but will be enlarged by the reception of many heathen peoples. Veriol or Verio. CHAPTER THREE (See Deuteronomy 32.9.) “his holy habitation’ ,—i. e., heaven. Divine forgiveness the sure foundation for the promises made. 1 And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of Jehovah, and ‘Satan standing at his right hand to be his adversary. 2 And Jehovah said unto Satan, Jehovah re- buke thee, O Satan; yea, Jehovah that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? 3 Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the angel. 4 And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, say- ing, Take the filthy garments from off I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with rich apparel. 5 And I said, Let them set a clean mitre upon his head. So they set a clean “mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments; and the angel of Jehovah was standing by. | 6 And the angel of Jehovah protested unto Joshua, saying, 7 Thus saith Je- hovah of hosts: If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou also shalt judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and I will give thee °a place of access him. And unto him he said, Behold, 1That is, the Adversary among these that stand by. “Or, turban ; 3Or, places to walk Vers. 1-7« Ver. 1. “‘he’’,—1. e., the interpreting angel. “Joshua, the high priest’’,—He represents here the Jewish people. “standing before the angel of Jehovah’’ ,—1. e., in his official function as a high priest performing his duties. “Satan’’,—This refers to the chief of evil spirits, Satan himself, and not to a human adversary such as Sanballat (Ew. Kim.). “at his right hand’’,—The usual place of the accuser. Ver. 2. “‘Jehovah’’,—This is generally acknowledged to mean the . angel of Jehovah, it being not unusual in prophecy to have these terms used interchangeably. “a brand plucked out of the fire’’,——The reference is to the Babylonish exile from which Joshua, in the sense that he represents the people, had been pulled out as a brand. THE VISION OF JOSHUA THE HIGH PRIEST. Ver. 3. “clothed with filthy garments’’,—These represent the sins of the people. Ver. 4. “‘those that stood before him’’,—1i. e., the Lord’s minister- ing angels. . Ver. 5. ‘“‘J’’?,—1. e., Zechariah. He wants the assurance that the priesthood with its official purity would be fully restored. 284 ZECHARIAH Ver. 6. “protested’’,—i. e., solemnly declared,—a forensic term. Aes 7. “keep my charge’’,—i. e., keep the ordinances, ritual and moral. _ “keep my coutts’’,—i. e., preside over the temple ceremony as high priest. “a place of access’’,—This relates to a promise of some kind of asso- ciation or influence with Jehovah’s ministering angels. It really means “places to walk’’ and pertains doubtless to ingress and egress, free access to God among his ministering servants in the discharge of his priestly functions. (C. Ch. Ma. Ew. Hit. Fur. Koe.) Some translate “‘walkers’’,—1. e., angels, who as messengers, go be- tween the high priest and god (Pe. Ba. Gro.), while others translate “guides’’, i. e., from among the angels. But these last two require some- what of an alteration of the text. 8 Hear now, O Joshua the high upon one stone are seven eyes: behold, priest, thou and thy fellows that sit I will engrave the graving thereof, saith before thee; for they ate men that ate Jehovah of hosts, and I will remove the f : : iniquity of that land in one day. 10 a ‘sign: for, behold, I will bring forth In ci day, saith Jehovah of. hosts, my servant the “Branch. 9 For, behold, shall ye invite every man his neighbor the stone that I have set before Joshua: under the vine and under the fig-tree. 1Or, wonder “Or; Shoot Or, Sprout Vers. 8-10. THE VISION OF JEHOVAH’S SERVANT, THE BRANCH. Ver. 8. “thy fellows that sit before thee’’,—-His associates in the priestly office; not that they were then actually sitting before him, but that this was their usual posture when in consultation about the duties of the priesthood. “men that are a sign’’,—The literal rendering is ‘‘men of wonder’. They are a sign of what is to come. ‘They are typical and as such are pledges to the desponding Jews that the priesthood should be preserved until the great antitype should come. ‘The address seems suddenly to have been shifted to the ministering ones and the talk is of Joshua and his col- leagues in the third person. “my servant, the Branch’’,—The Messiah. This seems to show His original obscurity and the gradual development of his character. Ver. 9. “‘the stone that I have set before Joshua’’,—There are two views as to the meaning of this stone: 1. The foundation stone of the temple which had been set up (laid) before Joshua by the hand of Zerubbabel by God as the chief builder, and therefore your labor in building shall not be in vain. (F. He. Hit. Ros. Neu.) Antitypically then the stone is Christ, the chief corner stone of the foundation of the Church, ‘‘and’’, says Fausset, “‘the stone that shall crush all the world kingdoms’. The “‘eye’”’ is a symbol of Providence and seven is the symbol of perfection; so the watchful eyes of God are fixed upon it. And upon Christ are the eyes of the angels (I Tim. 3.16) and of the saints (John 3.14,15; 12.32) and of the patriarchs and the 285 ZEGHARIAG prophets (John 3.56; I Peter 1.10) and, above all, the eyes of the Father. 2. The Jewish Church, with the same interpretation of the seven eyes as that just given. (Ch. Moo.) There is little data for definite decision but we unhesitatingly prefer the first view. The “‘seven eyes’ may also be conceived as the seven-fold radiation of the Spirit of God preserving and fitting for the glorious purpose involved. Both of these views of the “‘seven eyes’’ consider them not as engraved on the stone but as directed toward it. Calvin perhaps better considers the eyes to be carved on the stone, which would then refer to Christ’s own sevenfold or perfect fullness of grace and of the gifts of the Spirit, and His watchful care for the Jews in building the temple, and always for the Church, His spiritual temple. 7 “T will engrave the graving’’,—i. e., make it a beautiful and precious stone. “T will remove the tniquity’’,—Not alone the iniquity but its con- sequences as well. “that land’’,—i. e., this land, the land of Israel, the inhabitants of which of course stand for the whole Church. “in one day’’,—Primarily the reference is to the “great day of atone- ment’ (tenth day of the seventh month) ; typically the reference is to the atonement of the Messiah on the cross ‘‘once for all’. Ver. 10. “‘under the vine and under the fig-tree’’,—This is to be taken perhaps both spiritually and literally. ‘‘It is’, says Fausset, “‘a type of peace with God through Christ and of Millennial .blessedness.”’ Scofield says that verse 10 marks the time of fulfillment as in the future kingdom. .He says, ‘‘It speaks of a security which Israel has never known since the captivity, nor will know until the kingdom comes.”’ CHABTERTEOUR 1 And the angel that talked with thou not what these are? And I said, me came again, and waked me, as a mes my lord. man that is wakened out of his sleep. Then he answered and spake unto ; me, saying, This is the word of Jehovah 2 And he said unto me, What seest unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by *might, thou? And I said, I have seen, and, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith behold, a candlestick all of gold, with Jehovah of hosts. its bowl upon the top of it, and its 7 Who art thou, O great mountain? seven lamps thereon; ‘there are seven before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a pipes to each of the lamps, which are plain; and he shall bring forth the top upon the top thereof; 3 and two olive- stone with shoutings of Grace, Grace, trees by it, one upon the right side of unto it. : the bowl, and the other upon the left 8 Moreover the word of Jehovah side thereof. came unto me, saying, 4 And I answered and spake to the 9 The hands of Zerubbabel have laid angel that talked with me, saying, What the foundations of this house; his hands are these, my lord? shall also finish it; and thou shalt know 5 Then the angel that talked with me that Jehovah of hosts hath sent me unto answered and said unto me, Knowest you. 1Some MSS have, and seven pipes to the "Or, an army lamps, &c. ; 286 ZECHARIAH 10 For who hath despised the day of small things? for these seven shall re- joice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel; these are the eyes of Jehovah, which run to and fro through the whole earth. 11 Then answered I, and said unto him, What are these two olive-trees upon the right side of the candlestick 12 And I answered the second time, and said unto him, What are these two olive-branches, “which are beside the two golden spouts, that empty ‘the golden oil out of themselves? 13 And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these are? And I said, No, my lord. 14 Then said he, These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth. } 3Or, which by means of the two golden spouts empty 4Heb. the gold and upon the left side thereof? Vers. 1-14. THE VISION OF THE GOLDEN CANDLESTICK AND THE Two OLIVE TREES. “T Ais ts, as we Rnow from Rev. 11.3-12’’, says Scofield, ‘‘a prophecy to be fulfilled in the last days of the present age.” Ver. 1. “‘out of his sleep’’,This was perhaps an ecstatic slumber of astonishment at the former vision. Ver. 2. “‘seven pipes to each of the lamps’’,——-The literal is ‘‘seven sevens’ (forty-nine in all), and our text is doubtless right in taking the expression distributively. For an exact parallel see IJ Sam. 21.20 and compare I Chron. 20.6. “bowl’’,—This is the oil vessel. “its sever) lamps’’,—The candlestick symbolizes the Jewish theocracy and ultimately the Church. The seven lamps indicate the fullness of the light that was shed, and the forty-nine pipes the number and variety of the channels by which grace is imparted to the luminary. The seven lamps are united in one stem: so in Ex. 25.32, but in Rev. 1.12. the seven candlesticks are separate. Says Fausset, ‘“The Gentile Churches will not realize their unity until the Jewish Church as the stem unites all the lamps in one candlestick (Rom. 11.16-24).” Vero: Ver. 6. “Not by might’’, etc.,—As the candlestick gave light be- cause it was supplied with oil, so the work on the temple and the establish- ing of his people could only be accomplished by the same agency, oil being a symbol of the Holy Spirit. Ver. 7. “O great mountain’’,—Some take this as a reference to the Persian kingdom (K. Hen. Hit. Kim. Jer. Cha.), but it is better to take it with others as a figure of any and all mountain-like difficulties. (F. KI. Ch. Neu.) “he’’,—Zerubbabel, as the next verse plainly shows. “gtace, grace unto tt’’,—May God grant His grace to the stone, the grace that completed it preserve it forever. “two olive trees by it’’,—(See verses 12-14.) Ver. 8. “‘me’’,—1i. e., the divine angel, as also in verse 9. Ver. 10. “‘who hath despised the day of small things’’,—An ad- monition to the people and their rulers not to despise small beginnings such 287 ZECHARIAH as they had experienced. Who hath, i. e., with any reason? A negative answer is implied. (K. Ch. Wor.) ; “these seven’’,—i. e., the seven eyes of the Lord. “shall see the plummet’’,—An indication that the work is going for- ward to completion. Ver. 12. Without waiting for an answer he renews his question with slight alteration. “branches’’,—i. e., the channels through which the oil flowed into the bow! of the lamps. “spouts’’,—We are inclined to think that the marginal Fa which is that of the Authorized Version, gives the same sense with a somewhat clearer way of expression. Ver. 14. “the two anointed ones’’,—Literally ‘“‘the two sons of oil’’, i. e., Joshua and Zerubbabel (F. He. Pre.). Not the believing mem- bers of the Jews and the Gentiles (K1.), for this would confound the olive trees with the candlestick; nor Haggai and Zechariah (Ba. Hof.). Joshua and Zerubbabel typify the royal and priestly office of Christ. Fausset says that the “great mountain’’ of verse 7, representing mountain- like obstacles, antitypically refers to the antichristian last foe of Israel, the obstacle preventing her establishment in Palestine, about to be crushed before Messiah. (Jer. 51.25; Dan. 2.34,44; Matt. 21.44.) He says also the bringing forth of the “‘top stone’’ antitypically refers to the time when the full number of the spiritual Church shall be completed, and also when Ey one shall. be saved’. -CRom. 113263 Hebs 11.40361.2:22,23 3 ey, Scofield says, ‘“The whole scene forms a precursive fulfillment of the ministry of the two witnesses of Rev. 11, and of the coming of the true ‘headstone’, Prince Messiah, of whom Prince Zerubbabel is a type. Joshua and Zerubbabel were the two olive trees for that day, as the two witnesses of Rev. 11 may, in turn, but point to Christ as Priest-King in the kingdom-age.”’ CHAPTER FIVE Vers. 1-4. THE VISION OF THE FLYING ROLL. The curse of God upon the thief and the profane man. Vers. 5-11. “THE VISION OF THE WOMAN IN THE EPHAH. We have here as some think a prophecy of the present dispersion of the Jewish people. Scofield thinks that prophetically the application to the Babylon (land of Shinar, verse 11) of Revelation is obvious, the Gen- tile Church in which time full of iniquity falls under the severe ide of God. (Rev. 18.) CHAPTER SIX 1 And again I lifted up mine eyes, tains; and *the mountains were moun- and saw, and, behold, there came four tains of brass. chariots out from between two moun- 2 In the first chariot were red horses; 1Or, the two 288 ZECHARIAH and in the second chariot black horses; 3 and in the third chariot white horses; and in the fourth chariot grizzled strong horses. 4 Then I answered and said unto the angel that talked with me, What are these, my lord? 5 And the angel answered and said unto me. ‘These are the four *winds of heaven, which go forth from ‘standing before the Lord of all the earth. 6 The chartot wherein are the black horses “Or, spirits goeth forth toward the north country; and the white went forth after them; and the grizzled went forth toward the south country. 7 And the ‘strong went forth, and sought to go that they might walk to and fro through the earth: and he said, Get you hence, walk to and fro through the earth. So they walked to and fro through the earth. 8 Then cried he to me, and spake unto me saying, Behold, they that go toward the north country have quieted my spirit in the north country. 4Some MSS have, red 3Or, presenting themselves Vers. 1-8. THE VISION OF THE FOUR CHARIOTS. Ver. 1. “chartots’’,—1. e., chariots to execute God’s judgments on the wicked Gentile nations. “brass’’,—A symbol of impregnable strength and permanency. “two mountains’,—A valley guarded by two brazen mountains is a fit symbol of the resistless might of Him who sends forth the executioners of His will. There has been considerable speculation as to which moun- tains are intended, Mt. Zion and Mt. Moriah (Ma. Um.), Mt. Zion and Mt. Olives (K. Moo.), the two horns of Medo-Persia (He.). But there is no need for seeking such explanations. “four’’,—1i. e., indicating like the four points of the compass, uni- versality, a judgment going in every direction. Can there be an allusion in the number “‘four’’ to the four world- kingdoms of Daniel? It is thought by some that this is true insofar at least as their existence lay in the future. God’s judgment on Babylon had already been executed unless the reference be to the punishment by Darius on Babylon two years later for her rebellion against the Medo-Persian conqueror. Vers. 2,3. “‘Red’’ denotes war and bloodshed; “‘black’’ denotes sorrow and death; “‘white’’ denotes victory, and the “‘grizzled’’ (piebald, speckled, dapple) denotes a mixed dispensation or judgment of perhaps ‘famine and pestilence’ (K. Ch.), or of ‘‘adversity and prosperity’ (F. Wo. He.), or a combination of all (Moo.). “strong” ,—This is the usual sense of the word and is so taken by the majority but it is strange to find an epithet of quality immediately con- nected with one of color. Some therefore derive the word from an Arabic root meaning ‘‘to shine’, hence, shining red. (C. Ch. Ew. Or. Coc. Koe. Kim. Fur. Cha. Sep. Syr. Aq. A-V.) One cannot be sure, but it is best perhaps to adhere to the usual sense of the world and translate “‘strong’’ as in our text. Ver. 5. “‘winds’’,—Some translate ‘‘spirits’’ (F. A-V. He. Neu.), but it is nowhere else in the Bible so translated (certainly not in Ps. 104.4), and it is better to adhere to the word ‘‘winds’’. God makes the winds His angels, His ministers of judgment. Ver. 6. “north country’’,—1i. e., Babylon, the territory washed by the Tigris and the Euphrates. 289 ZECHARIAH “the white went forth after them’’,—The white horses, following perhaps to victoriously subdue Medo-Persia who had before the days of this vision been used of God to subdue Babylon. In this case of course the white horses would represent the Grecian (Alexander’s) kingdom, i. e., in case we adopt the four erorlds -power explanation. “the south country’’,—1i. e., Egypt “being a part of Alexander's kingdom and standing for the whole of it’’, says Fausset, and in this case the grizzled horses would represent Rome. Ver. 7. “‘strong’’,—He seems until now to have omitted the destina- tion of the first chariot with the red horses. All are agreed that verse 7 refers to what the red horses of the first chariot were to do, and it will not therefore be worth while to busy ourselves with the practically insoluable difficulty as to why the word “‘strong” is used here. ‘hese first horses seem not content with going forth to a single territory but asked permis- sion to go through the whole earth and it was given. If the reference to the world kingdoms be retained the work of these horses ts to be completed hereafter when the final form of the Roman empire has been assumed and Israel’s last great foe, the antichristian confederacy, is overthrown. (KI. Hof. Wor. F.) But the contemporaneousness of their going forth, their destinations, the fact that Babylon had been overthrown before the vision and that Egypt was only one of the divisions of the Grecian empire somewhat invalidate the four world-empire explanation. (K. Sco. Coc. Koe.) Scofield says, ‘“That which is symbolized by the four chariots with their horses is not the four world-empires of Daniel, but the ‘four spirits of heaven which go forth from standing before the Lord of all the earth’, as is plainly shown in verse 5. These spirits are angels (Lu. 1.19; Heb. 1.14), and are most naturally interpreted of the four angels of Rev. 7.1-3; 9.14,15. ‘These have also a ministry earthward and of judgment, even as these spirits of Zechariah. The vision, then, speaks of the Lord’s judg- ments upon the Gentile nations north and south in the day of the Lord. (Isq2. Oe22eehew a elt oo) he Ver. 8. ‘“‘quieted my spirit’’,—1. e., have caused my spirit to rest, have appeased my anger. (F. Wo. A-V.) Babylon alone in the days of the prophet was punished. God's wrath had been satisfied in that direction. : 9 And the word of Jehovah came Thus speaketh Jehovah of hosts, saying, unto me, saying, 10 Take of them of Behold, the man “whose name is the the captivity, even of Heldai, of Tobi- “Branch: and he shall “grow up out of jah, and of Jedaiah; and come thou the his place; and he shall build the temple same day, and go into the house of of Jehovah; 13 even he shall build the Josiah the son of Zephaniah, whither temple of Jehovah; and he shall bear they are come from Babylon; 11 yea, the glory, and shall sit and rule upon take of them silver and gold, and make his throne; and “he shall be a priest upon ‘crowns, and set them upon the head of his throne; and the counsel of peace Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high shall be between them both. 14 And priest; 12 and speak unto him, saying, the “crowns shall be to Helem, and to 10Or, a crown, and set it "Or, whose name is the Bud; and it (or, they) shall bud forth under him 8Or, Shoot Or, Sprout 4Or, shoot 5Or, there shall be SOr, crown 290 ZECHARIAH Tobijah, and to Jedaiah, and ‘to Hen the son of Zephaniah, for a memorial in the temple of Jehovah. 15 And they that are far off shall come and build in know that Jehovah of hosts hath sent me unto you. And this shall come to pass, if ye will diligently obey the voice of Jehovah your God. the temple of Jehovah; and ye shall 7Or, for the kindness of the son &c. Vers. 9-15. THE CROWN UPON JOSHUA’S HEAD. This communication although given at the same time as the visions and closely connected with them, does not itself take the form of a vision. Zechariah is told to go to the house of Joshua where three men had carried silver and gold sent as gifts, through them, by the exiles in Babylon to help in building the temple in Jerusalem. He was to go on that very day and take the silver and the gold and make crowns, etc. Ver. 11. “crowns’’,—The word is plural and is to be taken in the sense of circlets of which the crown was woven, or better perhaps, in keep- ing with the connection which treats of two distinct offices in one person, priest and king. Ver. 12. “Behold the man’’,—This may be referred to Joshua as typical of the Messiah (K.), but is better referred directly to the Messiah as if .He were present. “Branch’’,— (See Chap. 3.8 and Isa. 4.2.) “shall grow up out of his place’’,— 1. Grow up from His own land and nation as a genuine root-shoot from the stock to which the promise had been made. (K. Ba. Ch. Coc. Hen.) 2. Under Him “‘it’’, the Church, shall grow forth. (Ma. Margin.) 3. Grow up’ of Himself, without man’s aid, of His own power, in His miraculous conception. (He.) 4. Grow up out of His place of obscurity. (Moo.) The first explanation is by far the more preferable. “temple’’,—The spiritual temple of which Solomon’s and the one Pate then building were only types. (F. Wo. Ch. Hen. Tho. Coc. Oe. Fausset says, ‘‘It raises their thought beyond the material temple they were then building to the spiritual temple and also to the future glorious temple to be reared in Israel under Messiah’s superintendency.’’ (Ezk., Chaps. 40,41,42,43.) - . Ver. 13. “a priest upon his throne’’,—He is to be both king and high-priest on one and the same throne. “peace between them both’’,—Not between the Branch and Jehovah (Vit. Coc.), nor between the Branch and an ideal priest (Ew. Bu:), nor between the royal and priestly offices (Hen. Ros.), but between the king and the priest who sit on the throne united in one person, the Branch. (F. Ch. Um. Koe.) This is typified by Joshua and Zerubbabel working harmoniously together. “counsel of peace’’,—The glorious scheme of reconciliation between God and man effected by the joint exercise of the regal and sacerdotal offices of the Lord Jesus Christ. Zo ZECHARIAH Ver. 14. The crowns are not to be Joshua’s personal property but are to be preserved in the temple as a memorial of the three men who brought them and to Joshua for his gracious hospitality. They were to be left there also to extend the typical significance of the whole proceed- ing. These men sending from afar their gifts for the house of God were types of many who would one day come from heathen lands and help to build the temple of God. “Chelem’’ is a copyist’s error for Cheldai and ““Hen’’ is doubtless another name for Joshua. Ver. 15. “they that are afar off’’,—The reference is primarily to the distant stranger, including of course the Jews of the dispersion, the return of the latter and the conversion of the former. “ye shall hnow’’,—1i. e., when the events correspond to the prediction. (Ag if’’,——This does not mean that their unbelief could set aside God's gracious purpose as to the coming of the Messiah, but that His glory should not be manifest to the disobedient Jews unless they turn to Him with manifest repentance. Says Scofield, ‘“The invariable order is followed, first the judgments and then the kingdom, and we have here a symbolical representation of Christ in His kingdom glory. The fulfillment of the Branch will infinitely transcend the symbol. He shall ‘bear the glory’ as the Priest-King on His own throne. Christ is now a Priest, but still in the holiest within the veil and seated on the Father’s throne. He has not yet come out to take His own throne. The crowns were laid up in the temple to keep alive this larger hope of Israel.’’ CHAPTER SEVEN PAST RESULTS OF DISOBEDIENCE. CHAPTER EIGHT 1 And the word of Jehovah of hosts the streets of the city shall be full of came to me, saying, 2 Thus saith Jeho- boys and girls playing in the streets vah of hosts: I am jealous for Zion thereof. 6 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: with great jealousy, and I am jealous If it be marvellous in the eyes of the for her with great wrath. 3 Thus saith remnant of this people in those days, Jehovah: I am returned unto Zion, and should it also be marvellous in mine will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: eyes? saith Jehovah of hosts. 7 Thus and Jerusalem shall be called The city saith Jehovah of hosts: Behold, I will of truth; and the mountain of Jehovah save my people from the east country, of hosts, The holy mountain. 4 Thus and from the west country: 8 and [ saith Jehovah of hosts: There shall yet will bring them, and they shall dwell old men and old women ‘dwell in the in the midst of Jerusalem; and they streets of Jerusalem, every man with his shall be my people, and I will be their staff in his hand “for very age. 5 And God, in truth and in righteousness. 4Or, szd *Heb. for multitude of days Vers. 1-8. PROMISE OF FUTURE BLESSINGS FOR OBEDIENCE Ver. 3. “I am returned’’,—1. e., determined to return. . “The city of truth’’,—i. e., the city where truth is found 292. ZECHARIAH Ver. 4. A beautiful picture of long life, security and happiness. The strict fulfillment is to be referred to Messianic times and in complete fulfillment to the Millennium times. Ver. 6. ‘“‘the remnant’’,—This refers, as also in verses 11 and 12, to the remnant of Judah which returned from Babylon, and among whom Zechariah was prophesying. If the thing predicted seemed impossible to them, i. e., in their eyes, it was not so in His, Jehovah’s. Ver. 7. He will save His people from all lands as far as the sun shines. They are now found in countries especially west of Jerusalem. The dispersion under Nebuchadnezzar was only to the east. It would appear therefore that the restoration is as yet future. In a spiritual sense Jerusalem stands for the Messianic kingdom, while the literal interpretation (F. He. Sco. Pre. Koe.) calls for an actual restoration to their own land. Campbell Morgan says here, ““This is a prophecy never yet fulfilled: and I believe one of the very first things after the Apocalypse of Jesus with His saints, and when the man of sin has been destroyed, will be the gather- ing of God’s ancient people to their own city.” 9 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Let blessing. Fear not, but let your hands your hands be strong, ye that hear in be strong. these days these words from the mouth 14 For thus saith Jehovah of hosts: of the prophets that were in the day As I thought to do evil unto you, when that the foundation of the house of Je- your fathers provoked me to wrath, hovah of hosts was laid, even the tem- saith Jehovah of hosts, and I repented ple, that it might be built. 10 For not; 15 so again have I thought in these before those days there was no hire for days to do good unto Jerusalem and to man, nor any hire for beast; neither the house of Judah: fear ye not. 16 was there any peace to him that went These are the things that ye shall do: out or came in, because of the adversary: Speak ye every man the truth with his for I set all men every one against his neighbor; ‘execute the judgment of neighbor. 11 But now I will not be truth and peace in your gates; 17 and unto the remnant of this people as in let none of you devise evil in your the former days, saith Jehovah of hosts. hearts against his neighbor; and love 12 For there shall be the seed of peace; no false oath: for all these are things the vine shall give its fruit, and the that I hate, saith Jehovah. ground shall give its increase, and the 18 And the word of Jehovah of hosts heavens shall give their dew; and I will came unto me, saying, 19 Thus saith cause the remnant of this people to Jehovah of hosts: the fast of the fourth inherit all these things. month, and the fast of the fifth, and 13 And it shall come to pass that, the fast of the seventh, and the fast of as ye were a curse among the nations, the tenth, shall be to the house of Judah O house of Judah and house of Israel, joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts; ‘so will I save you, and ye shall be a therefore love truth and peace. WHeb. judge truth and the judgment of peace Vers. 9-19. THE RESTORATION PROPHETS ARE To BE HEEDED. Ver. 9. “‘prophets’’,—Haggai and Zechariah himself. “before those days’’,—1. e., in which work on the temple was resumed. “went out or came in’’,—i. e., engaged in their ordinary occupations. _ By “adversary”’ is doubtless meant the foe without and by “every one against his neighbor’ is meant intestine discord. Ver. 11. “But now’’,—i. e., now and from now on. 293 ZECHARIAH Ver. 12. “the seed of peace’’,—There is no doubt but that the meaning is the seed shall be prosperous. (F. Ch. Wo. He. Pre. A-V.) Keil and others render, ‘The seed of peace, namely, the vine shall’, etc.; but the vine is no more a vegetation that grows in peaceful t times than other kinds of Aen Ver. 13. ‘“‘ye shall be a blessing’’,—They were to be an aot of blessedness as they were before an example of an accursed people, i. e., a people upon whom the curse of God had rested. Fausset says, “Ihe distinct mention of Judah and Israel proves that the prophecy has not yet had tts full accomplishment, since Israel (the ten tribes) has never yet been restored, although individuals of Israel did return with Judah.” Werl>16; istered. Ver. 19. The fast of the fourth month was on account of the taking of Jerusalem (Jer. 39.2); that of the fifth month was on account of the burning of the city and temple by Nebuchadnezzar; that of the seventh month on account of the murder of Gedaliah and his friends (Jer. 41.1), and that of the tenth month was on account of the commencement of the siege against Jerusalem (Jer. 52.4). These were all to be turned into festivals of joy. ““‘gates’’,—The place where justice was usually admin- tions shall come to seek Jehovah of 20 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: It hosts in Jerusalem, and to entreat the shall yet come to pass, that there shall come peoples, and the inhabitants of *many cities; 21 and the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to entreat the favor of Jehovah, and to seek Jehovah of hosts: I will go also. favor of Jehovah. 23 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold, out of all the languages of the nations, they shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you, for we 22 Yea, many peoples and strong na- have heard that God is with you. 10r, great Vers. 20-23. JERUSALEM YET To BE THE RELIGIOUS CENTER OF THE EARTH. Ver. 20. “peoples’’,—i. e., entire nations. The connection is dropped at the end of the verse and resumed in verse 22. Ver. 21. “I will go also’’,—-The prompt response of each of the © parties addressed. Ver. 22. “many peoples and strong nattons’’,—This is of course Messianic, but it is entirely consistent as well with the literal interpretation that reserves the full accomplishment till Jerusalem becomes the center of Christianized Jewry. (Rom. 11.12,15.) ' Ver. 23. “‘ten’’,—A definite number put for an indefinite. 3.154) The heathen will not only go in streams to Jerusalem but will seek intimate connection with the Jewish nation. “of all the languages of the nations’’,—1i. e., of the nations of all languages. (Gen. 294 ZECHARIAH “take hold of the skirts’’,—A gesture of entreaty. “go with you’’,—i. e., not only to the house of God (Hit.), but in other ways as well. (Ruth 1.16.) “in those days’’,—The days when Jerusalem has been made the center of the earth’s worship. Says Scofield, ‘The Jew will then be the mission- > ae ary, and to the very ‘nations’ now called ‘Christian’. CHAPTER NINE Chapters 9 to 14 were written thirty years later. Vers. 1-8. A graphic account of Alexander’s conquests in Syria in the language of prophecy and also a prophecy of Philistia’s incorporation with Judah. “The greater meaning of these verses’, says Scofield, ‘‘converges on the yet future last days, as the last clause of verse 8 shows, for many oppres- sors have passed through Jerusalem since the days of Alexander.” 9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy king cometh unto thee; he is just, and *having “salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, even upon a colt the foal of an ass. 10 And I will cut off the chariot.from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem; and the bat- tle bow shall be cut off; and he shall speak peace unto the nations; and his dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. 11 As for thee also, because of the blood of thy covenant I have set free thy prisoners from the pit wherein is no water. 12 *Turn you to the strong- hold, ye prisoners of hope: even today do I declare that I will render double unto thee. 13 For I have bent Judah for me, I have filled the bow with Ephraim; and I will stir up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Greece, and will make thee as the sword of a mighty man. 14 And Jehovah shall be seen over them; and his arrow shall go forth as the light- ning; and the Lord Jehovah will blow the trumpet, and will go with whirl- winds of the south. 15 Jehovah of hosts will defend them; and they shall devour, and shall tread down the sling- stones; and they shall drink, and make a noise as through wine; and they shall be filled like bowls, like the corners of the altar. 16 And Jehovah their God will save them in that day as the flock of his people; for they shall be as the stones of a crown, ‘lifted on high over his land. 17 For how great is “his *soodness, and how great is “his beauty! grain shall make the young men flourish, and new wine the virgins. 1Heb. saved Or, victory 3Or, return Vers. 9-17. SAFETY AND PEACE BECAUSE OF THE COMING MESSIAH ' WHOSE DOMINION Is To BE UNIVERSAL. Ver. 10. ‘‘This and the verses which follow’’, say some, “‘look for- ward to the end-time and the kingdom.’’ Its immediate reference is per- haps to the deliverance under the Maccabees from the tyranny of Antiochus Epiphanes. “from Ephraim . . . from Jerusalem’’,—Both the ten and the two tribes, ‘“which’’, says Fausset, “‘are to be restored hereafter’. “sea to sea’’,—Primarily the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. “the River’’,—The Euphrates. These boundaries fulfill Gen. 15.18; Ex. 23.31 and Ps. 72.8. ‘“This’’, says Fausset, “‘is to be the center of the Messiah’s future kingdom and from thence extended to all the earth.”’ 295 1Or, glittering upon, &c. 5Or, their SOr, prosperity ZECHARIAH Ver. 11. ‘“‘thee’’,—1. e., the whole nation, the ten and two tribes. “blood of thy covenant’’,—i. e., the covenant between them ratified by the blood of sacrifices. “the pit wherein ts no water’’,—An image of the misery of the Jews in exile. “set free’’,—1. delivered them from the oppression of Antiochus Epiphanes, this Fak ee being a type of the future deliverance from their last great persecutor hereafteras (lsa7eod 4 200. da) “ptisoners’’,—This is not necessarily to be restricted to the Jews in exile but is to be taken rather of the entire people. Ver. 12. “the stronghold’’,—An emblem of the security they are to find in the Messiah. “prisoners of hope’’,—i. e., the hope just expressed, hope in a covenant-keeping God. “render double’’,—i. e., double the prosperity you formerly had (Ch.), or perhaps better, doubly greater than your adversity. (F. Wo.) “even today’’,—1i. e., in spite of all threatening circumstances. Vers. 13-15. The Maccabean deliverance. Ver. 16. “lifted on high’’,—Many prefer the marginal reading, “glittering on high’. (K. Ew. Ch. Ma. Koe. Fur.) The reference is to the gems of a crown flashing from the brow of a conqueror as he stalks over the land. Ver. 17. “‘his’’,—i. e., Jehovah's, (F. He. Ch. Ew. Hen. Pre.) “goodness . . . beauty’’,—i. e., which He bestows upon His people. “corn” and “wine’’,—1. e., indicating peace and prosperity. CHAPTER TEN 1 Ask ye of Jehovah rain in the time men, treading down their enemies in the of the latter rain, even of Jehovah that mire of the streets in the battle; and maketh lightnings; and he will give they shall fight, because Jehovah is with them showers of rain, to every one them; and the riders on horses shal! be grass in the field. 2 For the teraphim confounded. 6 And I will strengthen have spoken vanity, and the diviners the house of Judah, and I will save the have seen a lie; and ‘they have told false house of Joseph, and [| will bring them dreams, they comfort in vain: therefore back; for I have mercy upon them; and they go their way like sheep, they are they shall be as though I had not cast afflicted, because there is no shepherd. 3 them off; for I am Jehovah their God, Mine anger is kindled against the shep- and I will hear them. herds, and I will punish the he-goats; 7 And they of Ephraim shall be like for Jehovah of hosts hath visited his a mighty man, and their heart shall flock, the house of Judah, and will make rejoice as through wine; yea, their them as his goodly horse in the battle. children shall see it, and rejoice; their 4 From him shall come forth the corner- heart shall be glad in Jehovah. ' stone, from him the nail, from him the 8 I will hiss for them, and gather battle-bow, from him every “ruler to- them; for I have redeemed them; and gether. 5 And they shall be as mighty they shall increase as they have increased. 1Or, the dreamers speak falsely *Or, exactor Vers. 1-8. FORMER MERCIES RESTORED TO JUDAH AND ISRAEL. Ver. 1. The promise of rain and the fruitful season. Scofield says 296 ZECHARIAH that there is here both a physical and a spiritual meaning; rain as of old will be restored to Palestine, but also, there will be a mighty effusion of the Spirit upon restored Israel. Ver. 2. Idolatry, the cause of their affliction, to cease. Vers. 3-5. Deliverance through God’s blessing upon her own native rulers. ‘‘IThe whole scene’, says Scofield, “‘is of the events which group about the deliverance of the Jews in Palestine in the time of the northern invasion under the ‘beast’ (Dan. 7.8; Rev. 19.20), and ‘Armageddon’ (Rev. 16.14; 19.17). The final deliverance is wholly effected by the Return of the Lord. That there may have been a precursive fulfillment in the Maccabean victories can neither be affirmed nor denied from Scrip- ture.”’ Ver. 6. Fausset here claims that the distinct mention of Israel, the ten tribes, shows that there is yet a more complete restoration than that from Babylon when Judah alone with a very few Israelites returned. “bring them back’’,—He promises to bring them back and cause them to dwell as in olden time in their own land. Ver. 8. “hiss for them’’,—This refers to calling them together as do the keepers of bees by a hissing sound or whistle. “So Jehovah, by the mere word of His mouth, shall gather back to Palestine His scattered people. The multitudes mentioned by Josephus, as peopling Galilee two hundred years after this time were but a pledge of the future more perfect fulfillment of the prophecy.’’ (Fausset. ) 9 *And I will sow them among the peoples; and they shall remember me in far countries; and they shall live with their children and shall return. 10 I will bring them again also out of the land of Egypt, and gather them out of Assyria; and I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon; and place shall not be found for them. 11 And he will pass through the sea of affliction, and will smite the *waves in the sea, and all the depths of the Nile shall dry up; and the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, and the sceptre of Egypt shall depart. 12 And I will strengthen them in Jehovah; and they shall walk up and down in his name, saith Jehovah. 1Or, And though I sow them... . they shall remember, &c. *Or, the sea of waves Vers. 9-12. THE DISPERSION AND THE REGATHERING OF ISRAEL. Ver. 9. “I will sow them’’,—Never does this word, when applied to men, have the sense of scattering, abandoning, destroying (He. Hit. Fur.), but always the idea of increase. It therefore means here to cause to increase. The dispersion was with a special design. It is a Hebrew future and is said of that which has been done, is being done, and may be done afterwards. Ver. 10. “Egypt and Assyria’’,—These are types of the present universal dispersion. . “Gilead and Lebanon’’,—Their old dwellings east and west of Jor- dan, with special reference perhaps to northern Palestine, the former home of the ten tribes. Werte 1), will afflict the sea. “he will pass through the sea with affliction’’,—1i. e., He ‘As before at the Red Sea, so now He marches through 297 ZECHARIAH the deep at. the head of His chosen and smites down the roaring waves.” (Chambers.) He will cause such things to cease to be an obstacle to their restoration. CHAPTER ELEVEN Israel's rejection caused by her persistent and deliberate wickedness. Vers. 1-6. “THE WRATH AGAINST THE LAND. This, says Scofield, was fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem after | the rejection of the Messiah. 7 So I fed the flock of slaughter, called *Beauty, and the other I called verily *the poor of the flock. And I *Bands; and I fed the flock. took unto me two staves; the one I 10r, the most miserable of sheep "Or, Graciousness 3Or, Binders Or, Union Vers. 7-14. JEHOVAH’S WRATH CAUSED BY THE SALE AND REJECTION OF THE MESSIAH. Ver. 7. “Beauty ... . Bands’’,—Literally, ‘‘graciousness’’ and “union’’, the first signifying God’s attitude toward His people Israel in sending His Son, and the second, His purpose to reunite Judah and Ephraim. “poor of the flock’’,—‘This is’’, says Scofield, “‘ ‘the remnant accord- ing to the election of grace’ (Rom. 11.5); those Jews who did not wait for the manifestation of Christ in glory, but believe on Him at His first coming, and since. Of them it is said that ‘they waited upon me’, and ‘knew’ (verse 11). Neither the Gentiles nor the Gentile Church cor- porately are in view; only the believers out of Israel during this age.”’ 15 And Jehovah said unto me, Take is broken, nor feed that which ‘is sound; unto thee yet again the instruments of a but he will eat the flesh of the fat sheep, foolish shepherd. and will tear their hoofs in pieces. : ; 17 Woe to the worthless shepherd 16 For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall in the land, who will not ‘visit those be upon his arm, and upon his right that are *cut off, neither will seek *those eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and that are scattered, nor heal that which his right eye shall be utterly darkened. Or, miss 4+Heb. standeth *Or, lost 3Or, the young Vers. 15-17. THE JUDGMENT OF THE WICKED SHEPHERD. Ver. 15. “‘tmplements’’,—The crook, bag, pipe, knife, etc. “foolish’’,—Literally, ‘“‘wicked’’. Ver. 16. “tear their hoofs in pteces’’,—This may refer either* to cruelty, even as the flock is driven over rough and rocky places (F. Ew. Hit.), or to the ferocious greed of the shepherds who will even rend these extremities rather than lose a shred of the flesh. (Ch.) Ver. 17. “arm... eye’’,—The judgment is upon the arm that ought to have defended and the eye that ought to have watched. Who.is meant by the “wicked shepherd’’? 298 ZECHARIAH 1.) Herod?) *(He.) 2. The Roman rulers. 3. The whole body of native rulers. (Hen.) 4, The Beast of Dan. 7.8 and Rev. 19.20. (Sco.) The primary reference is doubtless to the Roman rulers, although they stand no doubt as a type of the later antichristian power which is to rise in the last times. Scofield says, ‘“The reference to the Beast is obvious; no other per- sonage of prophecy in any sense meets the description. He who came in His Father’s name was rejected; the alternative is one who comes in his own name.” Fausset says, ““Ihey were given up to Rome and shall be again given up to the Antichrist, the instrument of judgment by Christ’s permission. Antichrist will first make a covenant with them as their ruler, will break it, and they shall feel the iron yoke of his tyranny as the false Messiah because they rejected the light yoke of the true Messiah. But at last he is to perish utterly (verse 17) and the elect remnant of Judah is to be saved gloriously.”’ (K. F. Hof. Koe.) CHAR DERY TWELVE Scofield contends that Chaps. 12-14 form one prophecy, the general theme of which is the Return of the Lord and the establishment of the kingdom. 1 The *burden of the word of Jeho- vah concerning Israel. : Thus saith Jehovah, who stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foun- dation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him: 2 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of reeling unto all the peoples round about, and 10r, oracle “upon Judah also “shall it be in the siege against Jerusalem. 3 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all the peoples; all that burden them- selves with it shall be sore wounded; and all the nations of the earth shall be gathered together against it. “Or, against 3Or, shall it fall to be Vers. 1-3. JERUSALEM WHEN BESIEGED TO BECOME THE INSTRU- MENT OF JUDGMENT ON HER FOES. Ver. 2. “a cup of reeling’’,—1i. e., a cup containing God’s wrath, the drinking of which will cause them to reel and fall in hopeless weak- ness, etc. “apon Judah also shall it be’ ,—i. e., she shall be involved in the same trial and be also a cup of trembling to her foes. Ver. 3. “a burdensome stone’’,—This is taken from one of the sports of the young men who test their strength by lifting great stones by which they are sometimes crushed. FPausset says, ““The Jews. fell on the stone of offense, Messiah, and were broken; but the stone shall fall on Antichrist who ‘burdens himself with it’ and grind him to powder.” 299 ZECHARIAH “all the nations of the earth’’,—Here again those who interpret liter- ally mention the fact that the antichristian confederacy against the Jews shall be almost universal. 4 In that day, saith Jehovah, I will smite every horse with terror, and his rider with madness; and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the peoples with blindness. 5 And the chieftains of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem are my strength in Jehovah of hosts their God. 6 In that day will I make the chieftains of Judah like a pan of fire among wood, and like a flaming torch among sheaves; and they shall devour all the peoples round about, on the right hand and on the left; and they of Jerusalem shall yet again dwell in ‘their own place, even in Jerusalem. 7 Jehovah also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of 1Heb. her the inhabitants of Jerusalem be not magnified above Judah. 8 In that day shall Jehovab defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he *that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of Jehovah before them. 9 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the na- tions that come against Jerusalem. 10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication; and they shall look unto *me whom they have pierced; and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitter- ness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his first-born. 2Or, that stumbleth ® According to some MSS., him Vers. 4-10. “THE SIEGE ITSELF. Many scholars would have us believe that the reference is to the battle of Armageddon. Ver. 4. “I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah’’,—i. e., to guard over her, Judah standing here for the whole nation. Ver. 6. “‘all the peoples round about’’,—Many persist in finding an ultimate reference here to the final antichristian foes of Israel: Fausset says that Daniel represents the Antichrist more as a king with his conquests, St. John dwells more on his spiritual tyranny, while here in Zechariah his army is more fully described. Ver. 7. “‘save the tents of Judah first’’,—The unprotected open land as against the fortified city, the latter of which must know that in either case the victory was from God. Ver. 8. “‘shall be as David’’,—David was to the Jew the highest type of strength and glory. “the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of Jehovah’’,—It © shall exceed even its highest fame of old. Many commentators refer this prophecy, as we have seen, to the deal- ings of God with the national Israel in the last days, in the last great struggle of ungodliness. (V.F.K. Mi. Dat. Sco.) Chambers objects to this interpretation, but says, however, ‘‘It is manifestly easier to interpret the passage in its details upon this literal view of its application.”’ (See Lange’s Commentary in loco.) Ver. 10. “‘the Spirit of grace and supplication’’,—i. e., the Spirit which brings grace, producing in the minds of men the experience of the grace of God and so leading to supplication. “whom they have pierced’’,—The reference is here plainly to the Messiah. 300 ZECHARIAH 4é me... him’’,—This change of person is not uncommon in Hebrew. ‘The conversion and restoration of the Jews’’, says Seiss, ‘“‘the Saviour Himself connects with His promised return, as also does the Apostle Paul, thus leaving no room for a Millennium of universal peace and righteous- ness before His second coming. Thus here the Lord says, ‘I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced’,”’ 11 In that day shall there be a great apart; the family of the house of mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning Nathan apart, and their wives apart; 13 } : ‘ the family of the house of Levi apart, of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megid- and their wives apart; the family of the don. 12 And the land shall mourn, Shimeites apart, and their wives apart; every family apart; the family of the 14 all the families that remain, every house of David apart, and their wives family apart, and their wives apart. Vers. 11-14. THE REPENTANCE OF THE REMNANT. Ver. 11. The mourning shall be as the mourning of the city of Hadadrimmon for King Josiah who fell in the valley of Megiddon. Ver. 12. “every family apart’’,—Retirement is natural and needful for deep religious mourning and personal religion. Four families are enumerated, two from the royal line under the names of David and of his son Nathan, and two from the priestly line, Levi and his grandson Shimei, after which he embraces all together. (F. K. Ch. He. Lut. Hen. Koe.) Thus one leading family and one subordi- nate family of both the royal and priestly order is mentioned to show that the grief pervades all from the highest to the lowest. Ver. 14. “‘all the families that remain’’,—Perhaps it is best to think with Chambers of the remainder after those just specified, although New- man refers it to those who are left after the judgment. Thus also Fausset, who says it refers to those who are left ‘‘after the fiery ordeal in which two thirds fall. (Chap. 13.8,9.)” CHAPTER THIRTEEN 1 In that day there shall be a foun- and his father and his mother that be- tain opened to the house of David and gat him shall thrust him through when to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin he prophesieth. 4 And it shall come to and for uncleanness. 2 And it shall pass in that day, that the prophets shall come to pass in that day, saith Jehovah be ashamed every one of his vision, of hosts, that I will cut off the names when he prophesieth; neither shall they of the idols out of the land, and they wear a hairy mantle to deceive: 5 but shall no more be remembered; and. also he shall say, I am no prophet, I am a I will cause the prophets and the un- tiller of the ground; for I have been clean spirit to pass out of the land. 3 made a bondman from my youth. 6 And it shall come to pass that, when And one shall say unto him, What are any shall yet prophesy, then his father these wounds between thine ‘arms? and his mother that begat him shall say Then he shall answer, Those with unto him, Thou shalt not live; for thou which I was wounded in the house of speakest lies in the name of Jehovah; my “friends. 1Heb. hands *Or, lovers 301 ZECHARIAH Vers. 1-6. IDOLATRY AND FALSE PROPHESYING TO CEASE. Ver. 1. “a fountain opened’’,—It had long been opened but then only will their eyes be opened to see it. “for sin and for uncleanness’’,—i. e., for judicial guilt and for im- purity. The reference is to the two-fold ritual of Moses. It is the blood which cleanses from all sin. Ver. 2. “cut off the names of the idols’’,——The reference is to the total extinction of idolatry, idolatry here representing all forms of ungeal: ness and immorality. “prophets” ,—1i. e., false prophets. “the unclean spirit’’,The spirit of uncleanness in opposition to the spirit of holiness. The reference is to those who profess to be divinely inspired but are in league with Satan, an active agency in direct contrast to the Spirit of grace. (Chap. 12.10.) Ver. 3. If such a false prophet prophesies his very parents would not let parental affection keep them from punishing him. Ver. 4. The revolution is to be so great that the false pretender will be ashamed of his claims and will strip off his “hairy mantle’, the badge of a prophet and a symbol of grief for the sins he is supposed to reprove, by means of which in this case he was deceiving the people. Ver. 5. Charged with his crime he denies it. Ver. 6. He is asked about the tell-tale wounds between his arms, i. e., on his breast, which to the questioners is palpable evidence that he was wounded in connection with idolatrous worship. (See I Kings 18.28.) “wounded in the house of his friends’’,—Fausset takes this as an im- plied admission that he had pretended to prophesy and his friends in their zeal for God had wounded him. Hengstenberg says the word “‘friends” should be translated ‘‘lovers’’ and made to refer to idols, which is also tantamount to admitting the charge. Chambers takes it as an evasion; they are simply chastisements he had received from his friends or relatives. 7 Awake, O sword, against my shep- off and die; but the third shall be left herd, and against the man that is my therein. ' ; : ; fellow, saith Jehovah of hosts: smite 9 And I will bring the third part into ‘ ese: - x the fire, and will refine them as silver is the shepherd, and the sheep shall be refined, and will try them as gold is scattered; and I will turn my hand tried. “They shall call on my name, and upon the little ones. 8 And it shall I will hear them: I will say, It is my come to pass, that in all the land, saith people; and they shall say, Jehovah is Jehovah, two parts therein shall be cut my God Vers. 7-9. “THE SHEPHERD SMITTEN, THE FLOCK SCATTERED AND THE REMNANT REFINED AND SAVED. “Awake"’,—This is addressed to the sword personified. “The sword is here used representatively for any means of taking life. (See Jer. 47.6.) 302 ZECHARIAH _ “smute’,—In Matt. 26.31, where this is quoted, it is said, ‘I will ‘smite’, thus showing that it is God’s act. “my fellow’’,—Used only here and a number of times in Leviticus. It denotes a close and intimate connection. Who is this and who is the “fellow’’? It is the Messiah Himself, as the Fathers, Reformers and most moderns take it. Other interpretations are ‘“‘the foolish shepherd” of Chap. 11.15 (Ma. Ew. Hit.), but this it cannot be, for God’s “‘fellow”’ could not in any appropriate sense be applied to an unworthy person. Judas Maccabaeus (Gro.), Pekah (Bun.), Jehoiakim (Ma.), Josiah (Pre.), the whole body of rulers including Christ (C.). “the sheep’’,—The covenant nation. The scattering of the Disciples on His arrest was an initial fulfillment, a pledge of the dispersion of the whole Jewish nation. Says Fausset, ““Uhe Jews are still His sheep waiting to be gathered by Him. (Isa. 49.9,11.)” “my hand upon the little ones’’,—These are doubtless to be taken as the humble followers of Christ from the Jewish Church, the “little flock’, the “‘wretched of the flock’ in Chap. 11.7,11, mercifully revisited. Ver. 8. Keil says, ‘““The dispersion of the flock will deliver two thirds of the nation in the whole land to death, so that only one third will remain alive.” (See Ezek. 5.2-12.) “cut off and die’’,—This seems to show that literal death is meant. Fausset says, “‘Stnce this has never been fulfilled tt must await fulfillment tn the future under the Antichrist.” Ver. 9. “‘shall call on my name’’,—Hence, says Fausset, “it appears that the Jews’ conversion is not to precede but to follow their external deliverance by the special interposition of Jehovah.” “tn all the land’, Chambers, consistent with his method of spiritual interpretation, says, ‘This is not to be taken in a literal sense, but as repre- senting the domain covered by the kingdom of God’’, while others (K. F. Hen. Sco. Koe.) refer it to the holy land, Palestine. Some say the third part is the entire race of Jews during the present dispensation (Mi. Koe.), but as Hengstenberg justly argues in that case unbelieving Judaism would be regarded as the whole and legitimate con- tinuation of Israel, and this is simply impossible. Chambers says the third oe fr the entire kingdom of God on earth whether composed of Jews or entiles.’’ Scofield contends that in these last two verses Zechariah is returning to the subject of Chap. 12.10, and that they refer to the sufferings of the remnant preceding the great battle of Armageddon. CHAPTER FOURTEEN 1 Behold, a day of Jehovah cometh, when thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. 2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. 3 Then shall Jehovah go forth and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. ZECHARIAH Vers. 1-3. “THE GREAT BATTLE IN THE DAY OF JEHOVAH. The final conflict and triumph of God’s kingdom. Ver. 1. “‘a day of Jehovah’’,—A day appointed for the manifesta- tion of His glory and power. “thy spoil’’,—i. e., that which the enemy takes from her. _ Ver. 2. “half the city’’,—Fausset to reconcile this with the two- thirds of Chap. 13.8,9 says that there it was two-thirds of the entire land, while here it is one half of the city. To what does the event refer? 1. The time of the Maccabees. (C. Gro.) 2. The siege of Jerusalem by Titus. (Lo. Cl. He. Cy. The. Marc.) But Titus did not have all nations under his banner, nor did he leave one-half of the people in the city. For the same reason it cannot apply to the Chaldean conquest. 3. The period just before the Babylonian exile. (Ma. Kn. Ew. Hit. Bert.) But this is not at all consistent with facts. 4. All conflicts of the Church of God with her foes from the com- mencement of the Messianic era to its close. (K. Ch. Hen.) 5. A period yet future. (F. Ne. Co. Sco. Wor. Moo. Blay.) It would seem that only according to this last view is it at all possible to interpret the passage without meeting insurmountable dif- ficulties. ‘This’, says Campbell Morgan, ‘‘is an Old Testament prophecy of the Apocalypse of the Lord with His holy ones, being that MRIS: of His coming elsewhere called His manifestation.” Ver. 3. The Deliverance of His People. “as when He fought’’,—Perhaps at the Red Sea (Hen. ), although the more general reference may seem better, that is, as shown on many former occasions. (K. Ch. Koe.) 2 4 And his feet shall stand in that shall come, and all the holy ones with day upon the mount of Olives, which is thee. before Jerusalem on the east; and the 6 And it shall come to pass in that mount of Olives shall be cleft in the day, that ‘there shall not be light; the midst thereof toward the sea and toward bright ones shall withdraw themselves: the west, and there shall be a very great 7 but it shall be one day which is known valley; and half of the mountain shall unto Jehovah; not day, and not night; remove toward the north, and half of but it shall come to pass, that at even- it toward the south. time there shall be light. 5 And ‘ye shall flee *by the valley of 8 And it shall come to pass in that *my mountains; for the valley of the day, that living waters shall go out from mountains shall reach unto Azel; yea, Jerusalem; half of them towards the ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before eastern sea, and half of them toward the the earthquake in the days of Uzziah, western sea: in summer and in winter king of Judah; and Jehovah my God shall it be. f 1Or, as otherwise read, the valley of my ‘Or, the light shall not be bright nor dark mountains shall be stopped 2Or, to 8Or, the Vers. 4-8. THE RETURN OF THE MESSIAH TO THE MOUNT OF OLIVES, AND THE PHYSICAL CHANGES IN THE LAND. Ver. 4. The valley is to run east and west. 304 ZECHARIAH | The prediction that His feet shall stand on the mount of Olives, Erd- man says, 1s a proof that the Lord is to return to this earth. Ver..5.> “by the valley’’,—1. e., through it. “my mountains’ ,—i. e., those made by the cleavage. “reach unto Azel’’,—This refers to a place near Jerusalem of which no trace exists today. One derivation of the word makes it mean “‘adjoining’. (F. He. Koe. Jer.) Fausset says, ‘“The valley reaches up to the city gates so as to enable the fleeing citizens to betake themselves to it immediately on leaving the city’. Another derivation makes it mean ‘“‘ceasing’’ (Hen.), the valley reach- ing to Azel where they will find cessation from danger. This puts the place east of the mount of Olives. “earthquake’’,—This is referred toin Amos 1.1 but of it we have no further information. “with thee’’,—The narrative here passes from indirect to direct ad- dress suddenly because of the rapture of the moment,—a thing not uncom- mon in Hebrew. “all the holy ones with thee’’,—All agree that angels are meant, and to these are added by premillennarians redeemed men, glorified saints. Ver. 6. This is a very difficult verse. 1. A very great preponderance of manuscript authority (Tar. It. Pe.) as well as many commentators (He. Lut.) translate, ‘It will not be light, but cold and ice’. 2. Exégetical necessity almost compels one to accept the translation of either the A-R-V or the A-V., and the preponderance of authority is greatly on the side.of the former. (K. KI. Ch. Hen. Hof. Pre. Fur. Van. Koe.) The whole verse then indicates a day of darkness. Ver. 7. “one day’’,—1i. e:, an unique day. “known to Jehovah’’,—And by implication to no one else. “not day and not night’’,—These words are easier explained in har- mony with the Authorized Version reading of verse 6. Both verse 6 and verse 7 would then refer to an admixture like a dark day in which it is hard to distinguish between the darkness and the light. If the reading of our text, which we have preferred, in verse 6 be retained it is still possible to find reference to the kind of a day just mentioned. Chambers, how- ever, explains, “not day and not night’ in the sense of not being able to determine what is day and what is night because the lights of heaven have been put out, and this is in harmony with what is said elsewhere of the Day of the Lord, i. e., a day of darkness. “at eventime there shall be light’’,—-When darkness would be ex- pected it suddenly becomes light. Cowles says, ‘“There is a gradation through three distinct stages, first, utter darkness; then, a dim twilight like that of an eclipse; then at the close when you might expect darkness to cover the earth, lo! the effulgence of the full and glorious day.”’ Ver. 8. An ever-flowing stream toward the Dead Sea and toward the Mediterranean, a lively image of abundance. 305 ZECHARIAH 9 And Jehovah shall be King over all the earth: in that day shall Jehovah be one, and his name one. 10 All the land shall be made like the Arabah, from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem; and she shall be lifted up, and shall dwell in her place, from Benjamin’s gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananel unto the king’s winepresses. 11 And men shall dwell therein, and there shall be no more ‘curse; but Jerusalem shall dwell safely. 12 And this shall be the plague wherewith Jehovah will smite all the peoples that have warred against Jeru- salem: their flesh shall consume away " while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their sockets, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth. 13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great “tumult from Jehovah shall be among them; and they shell lay hold everyone on the hand of his neighbor, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbor. 14 And Judah also shall fight at Jeru- salem; and the wealth of all the na- tions round about shall be gathered. to- gether, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance. 15 And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts that shall be in those camps, as that plague. Or, dax Or, devoting to destruction “Or, discompture Vers. 9-15. “THE KINGDOM ESTABLISHED UPON THE EARTH. Ver. 9. “‘be one and His name one’’,—i. e., be so recognized, He alone will be worshipped and the worship of idols and other gods will disappear. Ver. 10. “‘Arabah’’,—The largest of the Judean plains running from Lebanon to the further side of the Dead Sea. “Geba and Rimmon’’ ,—Cities on the northern and southern borders of Judea. ““she’’,—1. e., Jerusalem. “from Benjamin’s gate (on the north) to’’, etc..—It is a question whether “‘the first gate’ (the old gate, Neh. 3.6) was on the east or on the west. Some make the line run east to the “first gate’’ and west to the “corner gate’ (F. K. Hen.), while others, with less probability, make the “first gate’ and the “‘corner gate’ the same and place it on the northwest corner. The idea is that the city is to have its former limits. Some put the tower of Hananel at the northeast corner and the wine presses at the south; others put the former at the south and the latter in the center of the city. Vienell salem. “The last day will end everything.”’ (Au.) “Temporal blessings and spiritual prosperity go hand in hand in the Millennium.” (F.) “In the nature of the case’, says Seiss, ‘“‘what is here foretold in verses 9 to 11 can only be realized as the result of the great consummation. It is, moreover, prefaced with the description of judicial administrations, in which ‘the Lord shall go forth, . .. and His feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east’.”’ Ver. 12. The foe that is here punished, says Fausset, is the last antichristian confederacy. This verse is used in Rev. 22.3 to describe the New Jeru- 306 ZECHARIAH Ver. 13. ‘“‘lay hold’’,—WNot for help, as some maintain, but to assail mm. (Fy Ch; ) Ver. 14. “fight at Jerusalem’’,—Not against Jerusalem (C. Ma. Jer. Lut. Coc. Kim.), but fight at Jerusalem against her foes. KI. Hen. Koe.) seals curse. (F. K. Ch. Even the beasts of the foes shall be overtaken by the divine 16 And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations that came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, Jehovah of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. 17 And it shall be, that whoso of all the families of the earth goeth not up unto Jerusalem to worship the King, Jehovah of hosts, upon them there shall be no rain. 18 And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, neither shall it be upon them; there shall be the plague wherewith Jehovah shall smite the na- tions that go not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. 19 This shall be the *punishment of Egypt, and the ‘punishment of all the nations that go not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. 20 In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses); HOLY UNTO JEHOVAH; and the pots in Jehovah's house shall be like the bowls before the altar. 21 Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holy unto Jehovah of hosts; and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and boil there- in: and in that day there shall be no more a Canaanite in the house of Jeho- vah of hosts. 10Or, sin Vers. 16-21. “THE WORSHIP AND SPIRITUALITY OF THE NEW ORDER. Ver. 16. “‘all the nations shall go up’’,—This of course could not be literally so, but they might go up by representatives. (F. He.) \ Those who allow only a spiritual interpretation to the prophecy see here a strik- Pomona of depicting the entrance of the heathen into the kingdom of od. There is a bright side to our Lord’s coming, even to the nations. It is clearly taught that every one that is left of the nations and kings and princes shall worship and serve Jesus. (See Isa. 49.7; Psa. 2.8; 72.8-11.) Says W. J. Erdman, “The return of Christ is followed by the con- version of the world, as is plainly shown by Paul in Rom, 11.25-27. A fullness of Gentile believers is now coming in while Israel as a nation remains in hardness of heart. When the number of the elect Church is complete, the Redeemer comes out of Zion and turns away ungodliness from Jacob and takes away their sins, and so ‘all Israel shall be saved’, and when Israel is converted, the whole Gentile world will also be converted. The same order of events was recognized by the apostolic Council at Jerusalem. (See Rom. 11.12-15 and Acts 15.13-18.)”’ “to keep the feast of tabernacles’’,—Why is this feast designated? 1. Because it was held during the best season for travel. (The. Gro. Ros. ) 2. Because it was the holiest and most joyful feast. (Pre. Ort. Kos.) 3. Because of its relation to the ingathering of the harvest. (Koe.) 307 ZECHARIAH 4. Because it could be held without any compromise of New Testa- ment principles. (He.) 5. Because the reference being to Messianic times the other two great feasts (Passover and Pentecost) have had their antitypes fulfilled and are gone. (F.) 6. Because of its interesting historical relation. (Ch. Mi. Hen. Dac.) The last is perhaps the best reason. It was a feast of thanksgiving after their pilgrimage through the desert. It was so kept on their return from Babylonish captivity, and so after their long dispersion it will be appropriate again for the same reason. To the Gentiles also it will be significant after their long wandering in their moral wilderness. Ver. 17. ‘‘no rain’’,—Rain is one of the greatest blessings of God because of the fruitfulness that follows it. It is true, as Chambers says, that this does not compel us to believe that at this period there will still be godless people. It may be taken as a rhetorical enforcement of the thought that there will be none. It may however be used with some propriety as authority for the view that there will be. Fausset, referring the fulfillment of the prophecy to Millennium times, says, ‘“That there shall be unconverted men during and under the Millen- nium appears from the outbreak of Gog and Magog at the end of it (Rev. 20.7-9), but they, like Satan their master, will be restrained during the Millennium.” Ver. 18. “Egypt’’,—Even Egypt, who is not dependent on the rain for her fertility, but on the Nile, is mentioned to show that not even she shall escape. However, the Nile depends at its source on rain, and so the better reason for this special mention of Egypt might seem to be the fact that she was Israel’s old hereditary foe. Not even she shall escape. Vers. 20,21. Every thing holy. Even the pots of the temple (used for boiling the sacrificial flesh) shall be as holy as the “bowls before the altar’’ (which receive the blood of the victim), yea, and “every pot’, (pots even for ordinary use) shall be as holy as them. “no more a Canaanite in the house of Jehovah’’,—The word does not mean ‘‘merchant’’, as in Prov. 31.24 (Aq. Tar. Jer. Gro. Hit. Bun.), nor literal Canaanite by birth (KI. Hof. Dru.), but as Chambers and others say, it is an emblematic designation of godless members of the covenant nation. Canaan was cursed among Noah’s children. It means here no unclean or ungodly person. “holiness, etc., on the bells’’,—-This does not mean that these bells should be used for religious purposes or worship or used to make sacred vessels (Cy. Gro.), nor that horses and other means of warfare should be consecrated to the Lord (Mi. Ma. Ew. Hit.), but that the distinction be- tween holy and profane should cease and all things should be sacred. 308 MALACHI THE BOOK OF MALACHI (BeGA3975 SrAbave Re DORER 1 Behold, I send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, will suddenly come to his temple; *and the *messenger of the covenant, whom ye desire, behold, he cometh, saith Jehovah of hosts. 2 But who can abide the day of his com- ing? and who shall stand when he ap- peareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fuller’s soap: 3 and he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi, and refine them as gold and silver; and they shall offer unto Jehovah offerings in righteousness. 4 Then shall the offer- ing of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto Jehovah, as in the days of old, and as in ancient years. 5 And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sor- cerers, and against the adulterers, and against the false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the sojourner from his right, and fear not me, saith Je- hovah of hosts. 6 For I, Jehovah, change not; therefore ye, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed. 1Or, even 2Or, angel Vers. 1-6. THE MISSION OF JOHN THE BAPTIST AND THE COMING OF THE LORD. Ver. 1. The answer to the last question of the last verse of the preceding chapter. “my messenget”’,—i. e., the one familiar to them from Isaiah’s proph- ecy. (Isa. 40.3.) The reference is of course to John the Baptist. “the Lord’,—The word here used is applied only to God, but this same person is called in this same verse “the messenger (angel) of the cove- nant’, and therefore by “‘the Lord’’ it is evident that here the Christ is meant, thus setting forth the deity of the Son of God. “whom ye seek’’,—i. e., whom ye desire—spoken perhaps ironically with reference to “‘where ts the God of justice’ of the preceding verse. “suddenly’’,—i. e., unexpectedly. (F. Wo. Poc.) “covenant’’,—This is understood by Keil and others of the Old Covenant, but by most commentators it is taken as a reference to the New Covenant. Perhaps the chief thought is that of the New Covenant, but we see no reason for restricting it either to the one or the other exclusively. The first clause of this verse is quoted of John the Baptist (Matt. 11.10; Mk. 1.2; Lu. 7.27), but the second clause, “the Lord whom ye seek”’, etc.. is nowhere quoted in the New Testament. With reference to this Scofield says, ‘“The reason is obvious: in everything, save the fact of Christ’s first advent, the latter clause awaits fulfillment (Hab. 2.20). Verses 2-5 speak of judgment—not of grace. Malachi, in common with the other Old Testament prophets, saw both advents of the Messiah blended in one horizon, but did not see the separating interval described in Matt. 13, con- sequent upon the rejection of the king (Matt. 13.16,17). Still less was the Church-age in his vision. The “‘messenger of the Covenant’ is Christ 309 MALACHI in both of His advents, but with special reference to the events which are to follow His return.”’ Ver. 2. “who can abide’’,—The day of the Lord is “‘great and very terrible’, (Joel 2.11). It is aday of judgment. That the two comings of Christ seem to be blended in one is quite the universal opinion of schol- ars both ancient and modern. Augustine says, ‘“The first and second advents of Christ are here brought together’. Fausset says, ‘‘His mission is here regarded as.a whole from the first to the second advent’’. He further says, ‘The process of refining and sep- arating the godly from the ungodly beginning during Christ's stay on earth, and going on ever since, is to continue until the final separation (Matt. 25.31-46). The refining process whereby a third of the Jews is refined, as silver of its dross, and a whole two thirds perish is described. (Zech al Bani) Ver. 3. “he will purify the sons of Levt’’,—These are the priests and judgment begins at the house of God. “in righteousness’’,—1. e., in a proper state of heart. Ver. 4. “‘offering of Judah’’,—The Hebrew word used here for “offering” is not that of expiation, but of prayer, thanksgiving and self- dedication. “as in the days of old’’,—1i. e., in the days of David. Ver. 5. “‘near to you to judgment’’,—Not only will the priests be judged, but all the people also. The sins mentioned are those of which the Jews were then and later guilty. 16 Then they that feared Jehovah spake one with another; and Jehovah hearkened, and heard, and a book of re- membrance was written before him, for them that feared Jehovah, and_ that thought upon his name. 17 And they shall be mine, saith Jehovah of hosts, even mine own pos- session, in the day that I *make; and I will spare them, as a man that spareth his own son that serveth him. 18 Then shall ye return and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not. 1Or,do this Vers. 16-18. “THE REWARD OF THE FAITHFUL REMNANT. Verses 7 to 15 are taken up with the complainings of the ungodly which was the occasion for “‘they that feared the Lord’’ to talk to one another in defense of God. Ver. 16. “a book of remembrance was written’’,—A book written for their advantage against the day of judgment when those found faithful are rewarded. Were lia treasure’. “tn the day that I make’’,—With the reading of our text agree most of the authorities (Pa. Ma. Jer. Tar. Sep.), except that they differ some- what as to the word “‘make’’. Literally this word means ‘‘do’’, as in Chap, 4.3. “mine own possession’’,—Literally, ‘‘“mine own peculiar 310 MALACHI Calvin translates, ‘“‘in the day in which I will do it’, i. e., fulfill the promises made. If the word “‘make”’ is retained the meaning is doubtless, as Grotius says, ‘‘in the day that I make those things come to pass foretold in verse 5”’. Ver. 18. ‘“‘ye’’,—1. e., the wicked murmerers. “return’’,—1i. e., to a better state of mind. “The word may be taken as an adverb and rendered ‘‘again’’, and the ‘‘and’’ omitted, i. e., ‘“Then shall ye again discern’’, etc. (K. Pa. He. Ges. Koe.) GHAPTER:FOUR 1 For, behold, the day cometh, it burneth as a furnace; and all the proud, and all that work wickedness, shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith Jehovah of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. 2 But unto you that fear my name shall the sun of righteousness arise with healing in its *wings; and ye shall 10r, beams ‘go forth, and gambol as calves of the stall. 3 And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I *make, saith Jehovah of hosts. 4 Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, even statutes and ordinances. “Or, do this Vers. 1-4. THE DAY OF THE LORD AND THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. Ver. 1. “the day cometh’’,—This is the “‘great and terrible day” mentioned in Joel 2.31. There are those who refer this to the destruc- tion of Jerusalem while others of course refer it to the last great day. “hat there may be a reference here to the destruction of Jerusalem cannot be denied but certainly this does not exhaust the meaning of the verse unless we confess to a gross exaggeration. It would seem that we have here again the principle of successive fulfillment, the destruction of Jerusalem being but an earnest of the later coming day of judgment. “leave neither root nor branch’’,—Not one shall escape, the expression being one of utter destruction. Ver. 2.. “the sun of righteousness’’,—Jewish commentators and many others (K. Hen. Koe. Rei. Moo.) agree with the text of the American Revised Version and make the idea that of “‘righteousness as a sun’’, i. e., the consummation of salvation. But from parallel passages such as Isa. 9.1; 49.6, etc., from exegetical tradition and from internal evidence, it is, as Packard says, better to understand it personally of Christ. (Pa. He. Eu. Cy. The., the Fathers, the early and a majority of the modern commen- tators. ) “healing’’,—i. e., salvation. “The beams of the sun are here com- pared to the outstretched wings of a bird. Ver. 3. “the wicked’’,—1. e., those who have troubled them. “they shall be ashes’’,—1. e., after having been burnt with the fire of judgment. | Fausset thinks the reference is to the righteous who shall be the army attending Christ in His final destruction of the ungodly. (Mic. 7.10; eee tO, s tL Cor. 6527 Reve 2:26)27.) 311 MALACHI Ver. 4. “Remember ye the law’’,—The way in which the coming judgment is to be averted. They would be apt to forget it in the absence of living prophets of whom Malachi was the last for four hundred years. 5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the and the heart of the children ‘to their prophet before the great and terrible day fathers; lest I come and smite the “earth of Jehovah come. 6 And he shall turn with a “curse. the heart of the fathers to the children, 1Or, with 20Or, land 83Or, ban Or, devoting to destruction Vers. 5,6. ELIJAH TO COME BEFORE THE DAY OF THE LORD. Ver. 5. This seems to be a repetition of the promise of Chap. 3.1 in more specific form. Christ said that John the Baptist fulfilled both of these prophecies in Malachi and that he was the fore-runner meant in each of them.’ “This ts he of whom tt ts written ‘Behold I send my messeng:r before thy face and he shall prepare the way before thee’.”’ “And if ye will receive tt, this ts the Elijah who was to come.” “Elijah ts come already and they knew him not.” “‘Then under- stood they that He spoke to them of John the Baptist.”’ The angel said to John the Baptist’s father before the birth of his son, “And he shall go before him (Christ) tn the spirit and power of Elijah.”’ This is enough to prove that John the Baptist was meant by the ““messenger’’ in Malachi 3.1, and by “Eltjah’’ in Malachi 4.5, so far as the first coming of Christ is concerned. When John the Baptist in John 1.21 denied that he was Elijah he meant only in the sense to which the Jews had reference, because he knew they were naturally thinking of a literal, personal Elijah, according to their interpretation of Malachi’s prophecy. But John in fact said that he was the Elijah of Malachi, in this other sense, when he affirmed, “I am the ee of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the ord’, The Jews hold that a literal, personal Elijah was meant by Malachi in Chap. 4.5 and that it referred to Christ’s first coming, and therefore they say that Christ has not yet come because the literal, personal Elijah has not yet come. Most of the Fathers, Cy. Or. Chr. The. Jer. Ter. Aug. Theo., the Romish interpreters and many modern Protestant commentators hold also that a literal, personal Elijah is meant in Chap. 4.5, but these teach that the prophecy has a double fulfillment; that John came in the spirit and power of Elijah before Christ’s first coming, but that the real, literal, per- sonal Elijah will come before the second coming of Christ. (S. A. O. F. Ma. Ry. Ew. Hit. Sco.) ; Alford says, ‘‘John the Baptist only partially fulfilled the great prophecy which announced the real Elijah (the words of Malachi will hardly bear any other than a literal, personal meaning) who is to fore-run the second and greater coming.” Now Christ said in Matt. 17.10, “Truly Elijah shall first come and restore all things’. Some commentators explain this by saying that Christ put Himself back in Malachi’s time and uses these words with a future 212 MALACHI reference from there, but it is far more in keeping with careful exegesis to refer them to a future and second coming after the time when the words were uttered by Christ, as do all the expositors mentioned above, except of course the Jewish commentators. Therefore that Elijah will come before the second coming of Christ seems quite certain, although it is not determined with absolute certainty whether he will be the personal Elijah (against which, however, no strong objection can be urged) or another John, as it were, in the spirit and power of Elijah. The natural inference is that he will be the real, personal Elijah. Ver. 6. Some refer this to a restoration of family harmony. (He. Ma. Ew.) It is better, however, to refer it to the reconciliation to be effected between the unbelieving, disobedient children and their godly, believing ancestors. They had been estranged from the piety of their ances- tors and the bond of union which had been broken will be restored. If this reconciliation is not thus effected Messiah’s coming would prove a curse and not a blessing. HE: GOSREISOR MATTHEW (A. D, 37) CHAPTER TEN 23 for verily, I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone through the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come. Ver. 23. “THE COMING OF THE LORD IN THE DESTRUCTION OF JERU- SALEM. “gone through’’,—This means literally ‘“‘to make an end of’, i. e., you shall not have finished your mission to the cities of Israel. “till the Son of man be come’’,—This expression here is most cer- tainly a direct reference to the destruction of Jerusalem which historically put an end to the old dispensation and which is of course a type of the final coming of the Lord. It is what Alford calls ‘‘an immediate literal and distant foreshadowing fulfillment’. This interpretation has more in its favor and less against it than any other. (A. R. Eb. Mi. Glo. Moe. Ges. Schot.) Indeed every other view is either entirely gratuitous and far- fetched or if it has any due regard at all for the accepted meaning of the phraseology it becomes the subject of insurmountable difficulty. Meyer says the personal second coming of Christ is meant. He says the phrase, “‘the Son of man cometh’’, always has a definite doctrinal sig- nification, and always refers to Christ’s personal coming, and that Jesus here speaks of this coming as being thus near, even as He does in Chap. 16.28. But this is hardly in keeping with Christ’s own statement that He Himself did not know the day of His coming, inasmuch as a prophecy that it was so near at hand would imply that He did know somewhat as to the time, while furthermore it is difficult to conceive of Christ being the author of any such misconception as to the time of His personal second coming at the end of the age. It will be interesting to note the various expedients to which com- mentators have committed themselves in attempting to resolve the difficulty of the passage before us. One of the most curious is that of Blackstone, who, with Meyer, says the reference is to the personal second coming of Christ, but who escapes the embarrassment this view involves.by declaring that not even yet in this twentieth century have the followers of Christ gone through the cities of Israel. The work, begun in the day of the Disciples, has been interrupted, but will be resumed in the last days and then Christ will come. But this cannot appeal with any great force to the impartial exegete, being, as it seems, rather something of a convenient makeshift which avoids the real issue of the text. The expression is explained by some as a vague “‘coming of the Son of man to their help’. (Chr. Bez. Kui. The. Eut. Zig. Theo.) , This view is advanced from the feeling that the connection demands reference to something that was to happen very soon. But such explanation does not on MATTHEW suit the earnest “‘veri/y’’, nor the fact that in reality it was they who came back to Jesus. (Lu. 9.10.) Others make “‘gone through” mean “‘finish’’ in the sense of bringing to Christian perfection, and thus in this way remove the time for Christ’s coming far into the future. (Hi. Hof. Mal. Jan. Zeg.) This Meyer rightly calls ‘“‘an erroneous makeshift’. Neither must the expression be explained as a coming through the Holy Spirit (C. Ca. BI. Gro.) ; nor allegorically, i. e., until the victory of Christ’s cause comes (B-C); nor yet, “until the Son of man overtake you’, seeing that the Disciples in their mission only preceded Christ. (L. Heub.) Olshausen says the Resurrection, the coming through the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and even the destruction of Jerusalem were all too remote from the Disciples during the first period of their ministry, and he says the words involve by way of anticipation a wider range of vision and blend the early mission of the Disciples with their subsequent one. But is such liberty of extension of the thought of Christ on the part of Mat- thew altogether warranted with reference to any teaching? Says Campbell Morgan, ““This was the first reference that Christ ever made to His coming in any other sense than that of His presence with them in the world at the time. It was an incidental word, and I personally feel that there can be no escape from the conviction that upon that occasion His reference was not to the coming with which He dealt at a later period, but to His visitation of Jerusalem in judgment at her destruction a genera- tion after His Cross.”’ CHAPTER TWELVE 18 Behold, my servant whom I have 19 He shall not strive, nor cry aloud; chosen: . Neither shall any one hear his voice in the streets. 20 A bruised reed-shall he not break, And smoking flax shall he .not, My beloved in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my Spirit upon him, quench, And he shall declare judgment to the Till he send forth judgment unto Gentiles. victory. Vers. 18-20. THE END-TIME JUDGMENT UPON THE GENTILES. Practically all scholars are agreed that by “declaring judgment to the Gentiles’ reference is made to Christ as Judge announcing final judicial sentence to the Gentiles at the day of judgment. All are equally agreed that by “until he send forth judgment unto victory” is meant “until He cause His judgment to end in victory in the day of final decision, so that no further conflict will remain’’, 1. e., ‘“‘until He shall have led forth unto victory at the last day the judgment announced by Him’. The holding of the final assize is the victory of the judgment. Alford has rightly said of the last clause of verse 18 that “it con- trasts the majesty of His future glory with the meekness about to be spoken a he Verses 19 and 20 then refer to the disposition of the lowly Christ in His day and ours. in the present day’, as Morgan says, ‘“‘He does not strive nor cause His voice to be heard in the streets: neither will He break the bruised reed, nor quench the smoking flax, t1//—there is an emphasis on that word which we must regard if we are to understand the passage— 315 MATTHEW till He send forth judgment unto victory.’’ Verse 20, in fact, has nothing to do with the dispensation in which we live, and the “bruised reed’ and “smoking flax’’ do not refer, as is usually supposed, to ‘‘men and women whose aspirations after Him are weak but will not be despised’’, because there is a time coming when He will break the bruised reed and quench the smoking flax. These expressions, therefore, refer to His enemies, as will be seen by referring to the original of the quotation in Isa. 42.1-4. In His day of grace and mercy He is longsuffering with those who stand out against Him, but in the time yet to come beyond this day of grace and mercy, ‘He will break and quench His enemies, and He will sweep before the majesty of His coming, as chaff of the threshing floor, the evil things which so affright us by their tremendous hold upon our age. In that day He will send forth judgment unto victory.”’ CHAPTER THIRTEEN Vers. 24-30. (See explanation under verses 38-43.) 31 Another parable set he forth be- seeds; but when it is grown, it is greater fore them, saying, The kingdom of than the herbs, and becometh a tree, so heaven is like unto a grain of mustard that the birds of heaven come and lodge seed, which a man took and sowed in his in the branches thereof. field: 32 which indeed is less than all Vers. 31,32. “THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN LIKE UNTO A MUSTARD SEED. Ver. 32. “‘less than all seeds’’,—This is not to be pressed in its literal sense, the mustard seed being a well-known Jewish type for any- thing exceedingly small. It is quite natural to interpret this parable in harmony with the min- gling of good and eyil as set forth by the previous ones. Thus Morgan says, ‘A tree, in Scripture, is always the figure of power. Our Lord simply teaches that Christendom shall become a great power and force—nothing more. I suggest for your consideration that the fowls of the air are emblems of evil and not of good; and that their lodging in the branches of the tree teaches the corruption of even Christendom itself.’ Most pre-millennial scholars agree in general with this interpretation, and we are not prepared to say that such an explanation is not in accord with the general teaching of Christ concerning the kingdom. ~ Assuredly, however, there is an aspect of the kingdom which por- trays the growth of Christianity from small beginnings, and it would seem to be far more natural for any mind not warped by doctrinal prejudice to think of this parable as representing the insignificant beginning of the kingdom and then its increase and growth and progress while the nations of the earth are drawn into it, whether we think of these nations as mere external adherents, mere nominal Christian nations, or as representing those who are sincerely coming into the kingdom. The fact is it would be better not to press either of these views concerning the “birds of heaven’’ too far. The idea of growth as represented by a tree is the central teaching of the parable, and the birds lodging in the branches quite naturally belong to the picture, without attaching to themselves any particular significance as a part of the parable. Any picture, as a whole, may stand 316 MATTHEW for a truth, without calling for a definite significance of every detail. ‘The parable represents, says Erdman, Alford, and other ardent pre-millen- narians, ‘‘the small beginnings and wide extension of the message of the kingdom and of its effects’. 33 Another parable spake He unto hid in ‘three measures of meal, till it them; the kingdom of heaven is like was all leavened. unto leaven, which a woman took, and 14 little more than a bushel Ver. 33. THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN LIKE UNTO LEAVEN. “tke unto leaven’’,—Because leaven, in the Scriptures, usually repre- Senee ansevilminiuence il Ux l2. b> ol Cora: 64/7 s1Matts)16:6;-Galm5.9); many take it thus here and explain it of the progress of the corruption and deterioration in the outward visible Church. (Gab. Mor. Sco. Bla. and most pre-millennial scholars. ) _ But there are strong arguments, as set forth by Lange, against so taking it. 1. It is contrary to the rules of hermenutics to treat an allegorical figure like a dogmatic statement. Thus a lion is used as a figure of Satan but also as a figure of Christ. 2. All the other parables in this section, and especially the preceding one, bear upon the development of the kingdom of heaven, and so this parable would be quite out of place if taken otherwise. 3. It is impossible to conceive of the kingdom of heaven as leavened by evil and thus hopelessly destroyed. (We might also remark that the passage does not say that the kingdom is like unto three measures of meal with which the leaven becomes mixed up, but it says the kingdom is /1ke unto leaven, and says Alford, a pre-millennarian, ‘“‘How are we to explain that it is said that the kingdom of heaven is [tke this leaven, and if it is like it in the sense of corruption, then there is an end of all the bless- ings and healing influence of the Gospel?”’ 4. Leaven may indeed be employed as a figure of sin and evil in the sense of being stronger than the individual Christian when left in his own strength to combat with error, but not in that of being more powerful than the kingdom of heaven itself. 5. Leaven as such is nowhere in the Bible a figure of evil, but a neutral figure of an all-pervading, contagious power. (See Leviti- cus 23.17, where it says, ““They shall be baken with leaven; they are the first fruits unto the Lord.’’) We find therefore on the other hand that many take the leaven here not as an evil principle but as a gracious influence. Thus Alford, Lange, Trench, Stier, Meyer, Olshausen and Godet among pre-millennialists, as well as all post-millennialists. Trench says that because leaven was as a rule used in an evil sense, Christ was not therefore the less free to use it in a good sense, while Stier says that the growth of the kingdom like a mustard seed doubtless brought to the mind of Jesus the thought of the corrupting influences that would creep into the Church like an evil leaven, and having this in mind, He purposely placed in opposition to it His good leaven, the kingdom of 317 r MATTHEW heaven. “The kingdom of heaven is thus seen to be the good leaven pene- trating by degrees the whole mass of humanity, as seen in the general world improvement. Trench, followed by Meyer, limits the parable to an individual refer- ence as indicating the regenerating and transforming of the soul. Meyer is'worth quoting here, although the limitation mentioned is hardly a per- missible one. He says, ““The parable of the mustard seed is designed to show that the great community, consisting of those who are to participate in the Messianic kingdom, 1. e., the true people of God as constituting the body politic of the future kingdom, is destined to develop from a small beginning. The parable of the leaven on the other hand is intended to show how the specific influence of the Messiah’s kingdom gradually pene- trates the whole of its future subjects until by this means the entire man is brought intensively into that spiritual condition which qualifies it for being admitted into the kingdom.”’ “until the whole be leavened’’,—This of course is never true of the entire dough of humanity, for what then would be made of the tares and the separation at the end? Just to what degree it is true individually and personally of the elect is also a question, even though one limit the parable to its individual reference. No allegorical explanation of the “three measures’ is to be sought, and those advanced are far-fetched and unwarranted. It was the amount usually taken for a batch. Vers. 37-43. (See Vers. 24-30.) 37 And he answered and said, He that fire; so shall it be in *the end of the soweth the good seed is the Son of world. 41 The Son of. man shall send man; 38 and the field is the world; and‘ frth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom alt things that cause the good seed, these are the sons of the stumbling, and them that do iniquity, kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; 39 and the enemy that sowed them is the devil: and the har- vest is ‘the end of the world; and the reapers are angels. 40 As therefore the tares are gathered up and burned with 42 and shall cast them into the furnace. of fire: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He that hath ears, let him hear. 1Or, the consummation of the age Vers. 37-43. THE KINGDOM AND THE TARES. Ver.. 38. “‘sons of the kingdom’’,—Not by the old covenant as in Chap. 8.12, but by the effectual grace of adoption. “sons of the evil one’’,—Their ethical nature being derived from the Devil. “the field 1s the world’’,—-Stier says, and rightly, that Christ could not have possibly said anything else here than “‘world’’, and that all who without reason substitute “‘Church’”’ lose thereby a highly important ground feature of the parable. Others think of the world here as the Church, 1. e., the visibie Church, nominal Christendom seeking to pervade and occupy the whole world. (R. A. M. O. Tr.) The sense, however, in the ultimate is practically the same. ‘The kingdom of heaven began with Christ’s incarnation, the good seed being sowed by the Gospel. 318 . , ; MATTHEW Ver. 39. ‘“‘the end of the age’’,—The reference is to the end of the dispensation or period of time in which we are now living. This expres- sion is not found in any other Gospel. The Jews said in substance, “When the Messiah comes, this age will end.’’ Christ and His Disciples took this phrase of the Jews and referred it to the second coming of. the Messiah which is to introduce the Messianic judgment. (M.L.O.R. A.) “the reapers are angels’’,—This is not a figure of speech any more than the Devil is a figure of speech. (See Chap. 24.31.) On the words, “‘let both grow together’’, in verse 30, Trench says, “Pregnant words, which tell us that evil is not, as so many dream, gradu- ally to wane and disappear before good; the world is to find itself in the Church, but each is to unfold itself more fully out of its own root, after its own kind.’ ‘There is to be the intermixture of good and evil until the end of time. Ver. 41. “gather out of His kingdom’’,—Meyer says this judg- ment is to take place as soon as the earth has undergone that process of regeneration which is to transform it into the scene of the Messiah’s king- dom. ‘The words “gather out’’, says Lange, ‘‘clearly show that the end of the age must be regarded as a period of time, an interval of time, and hence indicates that there is a. period intervening between the Second Com- ing of Christ and the first resurrection connected with it, and the last resurrection.” “things that cause stumbling’’,—Men who by their unbelief and sin put temptation in the way of others. “furnace of fire’’,—Gehenna, hell. (Chap. 25.41; Rev..20.15.) Ver. 43. “shine forth’’,—This conveys the idea of a sublime dis- play of majestic splendor like the glory of Christ at the transfiguration. They shall shine forth “‘ltke the sun’’ when the clouds have rolled away. ane.) “who hath ears’’,— The conclusion is in keeping with the importance of the parable. It behooves men to heed a prophecy respecting the destiny of all men. 44 The kingdom of heaven is like unto a treasure hidden in the field; which a man: found and hid; and ‘in his joy he goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth the field. 1Or, for joy thereof Ver. 44. “THE KINGDOM LIKE A TREASURE HID IN A FIELD. The kingdom of heaven can become ours only on condition that we are prepared joyfully to surrender for its sake every other earthly treasure. The field is the outward visible Church, and this man, says Alford, with- out any earnest seeking unexpectedly finds in some part of it the treasure of true faith and hope. 45 Again the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is a merchant seek- ing goodly pearls; 46 and having found one pearl of great price, he went and sold all that he had, and bought it. Vers. 45,46. “THE KINGDOM LIKE A MAN SEEKING PEARLS. This is a parable not merely of a finder but of a seeker, a seeker after truth. The Pearl of Great Price is Christ Himself. 29 MATTHEW “one’’,—There is only one such pearl. 47 Again, the kingdom of heaven is bad they cast-away. 49 So shall it be like unto a ‘net, that was cast into the in “the end of the world: the angels shall sea, and gathered of every kind: 48 come forth, and sever the wicked from which, when it was filled, they drew up among the righteous, 50 and shall cast on the beach; and they sat down, and them into the furnace of fire: there shall gathered the good into vessels, but the be weeping and the gnashing of teeth. 1Gr. drag-net 2Or, the consummation of the age Vers. 47-50. THE KINGDOM LIKE A DRAG-NET. The ultimate separation of the holy and the unholy in the Church. The net is the Church, the outward visible Church, gathering from the sea of nations. The parable teaches the development side by side of good and evil in this Church and the world. “they sat down’’,—Intimating perhaps that some time is to be taken in the work of separation. CHAPTER SIXTEEN 27 For the Son of man shall come in say unto you, There are some of them the glory of his Father with his angels; that stand here, who shall in no wise and then shall he render unto every man taste of death, till they see the Son of according to his *deeds. 28 Verily, I man coming in his kingdom. 1Gr. doing Vers. 27,28. “THE COMING OF THE LORD IN THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. Ver. 27. Christ at His Second Coming is to appear as Judge and His attendants shall be His angels. “shall come’’,—This is not a simple future, ne Lange i is inclined to see in it the meaning that the event is impending, i. e., He shall come—is about to come. “tn the glory of his Father’’,—The same glory as that which belongs to God and which He now shares with God. ““deeds’’,—The total outward manifestation of his inner life as a believer or an unbeliever. Ver. 28. Olshausen says, ‘‘This saying, which the first three evange- lists have with such unanimity preserved in the same connection, was one of the strongest supports of the Apostolic age that there would be a speedy and visible return of Christ.”’ “some of them that stand here’’,—The Disciples and the people standing about Him. (Mark 8.34.) This much we must accept as cer- tain, namely that it presupposes that the majority of them will have died previous to the event in question. “coming in his kingdom’’,— Many commentators refer this to the following transfiguration. (Be. Va. Fa. Chr. Ken.) But, (a) “‘some not tasting death’ implies a distant event, at least one more distant than six days. 320 MATTHEW (b) The evangelist could not have applied this expression to such an exceptional and transitory incident. (c) The transfiguration could not, save in the sense of a fore- taste, be called a coming in His kingdom. . Lange refers it to His resurrection, to the coming in the glory of His kingdom within the circle of the Disciples, which took place when He arose from the dead and revealed Himself in their midst; the moment being close at hand when their hearts were to be set at rest by such manifestation of His glory. | But the first objection (a) to the view above applies equally here. . Godet refers the expression to a spiritual coming of Christ, to an inner experience of the soul in accordance with the inward nature of the kingdom itself (the kingdom of God is within you); in order to enjoy this sight a new sense, a new birth, is needed, which some of them standing there should receive with the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, when they were to behold with their inward eye those wonderful works of God which Jesus calls His kingdom, or the kingdom of God. But the objection just recorded obtains here. It is. further- more an altogether too easy method of resolving a difficulty. . Many other authorities refer the expression to the progress and conquests of the Gospel, especially between Pentecost and the Destruction of Jerusalem. (AI. Fa. Whe. Dor. Era. Klo. Schen.) But there is the same fatal objection to this view, as without doubt practically all of them saw at least the beginning of such a fulfillment. . Barnes interprets the passage spiritually and refers it to the day of Pentecost and the founding of the Church. But, (a) The same common objection applies equally to this view. (b) Jesus and the Holy Spirit are two distinct persons. Jesus said, “‘I will send you another Comforter’, and if the Holy Spirit be “‘another’’ Comforter, He cannot then be Christ Himself, and it is therefore inconsistent to confound this event with the coming of the Son of man. (c) Furthermore, it will not do to identify the Church with the Kingdom. +The Church is to suffer and to reign with Christ in His Kingdom. (Rom. 8.17.) . Wordsworth substitutes, ‘‘shall not taste of the bitterness of death’’, i. e., shall not taste of the death of the soul until, etc., much less shall they after He comes! But this is an interpretation altogether too fanciful. Black- stone says the words may have this significance, as in the sense of John 8.51 and Hebrews 2.9, but he merely suggests this explanation, and is quite convinced that the word “till” more than intimates that some of them standing there should taste death, and that therefore natural death or the separation of soul and body was meant. . Meyer and Olshausen refer it to His ultimate glorious Parousia. 321 MATTHEW They say the kingdom cannot come without the King, and that the coming of this verse and the one just before it are one and the same, the former verse emphasizing the certainty of the Second Coming and the latter one the nearness of it. But— (a) This coming can hardly be the same as that mentioned in the preceding verse because there He comes in the glory of His Father, while here He comes in His kingdom. (b) How could Christ, not knowing the time of His Parousia Himself (Mark 13.32) utter such a determinate prophecy of it? (c) Christ could not have labored under such a misapprehension. Olshausen says Christ thought His personal return was really so near at hand. But this is equivalent to saying the Lord was mistaken. (d) Stier says, “not tasting death until! He comes’ implies that they will taste it after He comes, and that therefore this cannot refer to His final Parousia. 8. Blackstone maintains that it is at Christ’s coming in His king- dom that He is to be manifested in His glory, and that the expres- sion here means His coming in the Parousia at the end of this age, even as do Meyer and Olshausen, but, in a manner hardly con- sistent with sound interpretation, he refers the prophecy of this passage to the visions given to the three Disciples on the Mount of Transfiguration, to Paul when caught up into the third heaven, and to John when in Patmos, as set forth in the Book of Revela- tion. But apart from the fact that the nearness of the Trans- figuration is, as we have already so often stated, fatal to this part of the explanation, it will not do to deprive in this way the thing prophesied of its actuality and to fill up its meaning with a vision. Whatever they were to see must have been in some sense a real coming of Christ in His kingdom, and not merely a vision of it. 9. Still others refer the expression to the Destruction of Jerusalem (Chap. 10.23) as a type and an earnest of the final Second Coming of Christ. (A. E. R. S. Ow. Oo. Eb. Bl. Gro. Wet. Cap. Kui. Glo. Schot.) With this view we are inclined to agree. It has against it none of the objections enumerated and Chap. 25 seems to support it. CHAPTER NINETEEN 27 Then answered Peter and said un- lowed me, in the regeneration when the to him, Lo, we have left all, and fol- Son of man shall sit on the throne of lowed thee; what then shall we have? his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve 28 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I thrones, judging the twelve tribes of say unto you, that ye who have fol- Israel. Vers. 27,28. THE DISCIPLES TO JUDGE ISRAEL AT THE LORD’S RETURN. Ver. 27. A question doubtless prompted by the words, “‘shalt have treasure in heaven’”’ spoken to the rich young man. 322 MATTHEW “what shall we have therefore?’’—This is a question of reward. Not ‘‘What therefore will there be for us still to do?’’ (Pau.) ; nor ‘‘What is waiting for us? Are we, too, to be called upon to undergo such a test as the young man has just been subjected to?’’ (O.) Ver. 28. “in the regeneration’’,—Some (Aug. Eut. Fri. Theo.) interpret this expression of the Resurrection; but this sense is too restricted and is besides contrary to regular New Testament usage. Hilary, Hammond and others apply the expression to the first regen- eration, and, connecting it with “followed me’’, render, ‘““Ye who have followed me in the regeneration, or as regenerated persons’. Similar to this is the view which takes the words as referring to the state of things on earth after Christ’s resurrection, when He had sat down, after His ascen- sion, upon His throne. (C. Bl. Li. Gro. Whe.) But the Disciples could only have conceived of the renovation of the world as something taking place contemporaneously with the actual setting up of the kingdom at the return of the Lord. Others accordingly and rightly take them as signify- ing the change by which the whole world is to be restored to that original state of perfection in which it existed before the fall and which is to be brought about by the coming of the Messiah, at which time it seems, in the minds of the Disciples, there would take place the setting up of His kingdom. (M. D.) Lange combines the last two views. “judging the twelve tribes of Israel’’,—There are two views of this passage: 1. The symbolical view, i. e., that the expression applies to the spiritual administration and rule of the Disciples in subordination to the will of the Master. Lange says that it is a figurative repre- sentation of Christ’s presence and power in the infant Church, laying down rules and sitting in judgment through His vice- regents, the Disciples. The Disciples appear here therefore in the ideal rather than in their individual capacity, and that there- fore the twelve tribes of Israel must be taken in a symbolical sense as applying to the whole body of believers. (L. D.C. Bl. Gro. Whe. ) But against the symbolical view the following good reasons obtain: (a) The period after Christ’s resurrection was not the time of their reward but of trial and persecution. (b) It does not furnish a pertinent reply to Peter's question. (c) Godet says that in the parallel passage in Luke 22.30, the expression, ‘“‘eat and drink at my table’, almost compels one to go further than the-spiritual or symbolical interpretation, and interpret “in my kingdom” as in Luke 22.16,18, and so it would seem that the reference is to a kingdom He was to establish in the future. (d) Meyer says that the Disciples could: only conceive of the renovation of the world contemporary with the setting up of the Messianic kingdom. 2. The literal view, which attaches to the word “‘judging’’ its usual literal significance. It must at least have so appeared to the minds of the Disciples. (M. O. G. PI. Ow. Carr.) 323 MATTHEW Ellicott well says, “Whatever approximations to a literal fulfillment there may bein the far-off future lies behind the veil.’ That is, we do not know exactly what is the nature of this function, but the arguments © all seem to strongly favor the literal view of the same. Judging, it would seem in the minds of the Disciples, would refer not alone to judging every man according to his works, as assessors of the divine King; but judging in the old sense of the word as well, i. e., redressing wrongs, ruling, gov- erning. Owen would have us think of a mere “‘concurring’’ in the sentence of the Judge. in Ellicott says, ““The words receive at least an adequate fulfillment if we see in them the promise that in the last triumphant stage of the redeem- ing work the Apostles should still be recognized and held in honor as guiding the faith and conduct of their countrymen. So I Cor. 6.2 refers in like manner not solely nor chiefly to any share which the Disciples shall have in the actual work of the final judgment, but to the assured triumph of the faith, the laws, the principles of action of which they were then the persecuted witnesses.”’ ‘ Meyer, advocating the literal view, says, “‘Believers generally are to share in the future glory and reign of Christ (Rom. 8.17; II Tim. 2.12) and to have part in judging the non-Christian world (I Cor. 6.2), but to the Disciples the special prerogative is here accorded of having part in the judgment of the Jewish people, it being evident from I Cor. 6.2 that the Jewish people will then still form part of the unconverted world.” CHAPTER TWENTY 21 She saith unto him, Command that these my two sons may sit, one on thy right hand, and one on thy left hand, in thy kingdom. Ver. 21. “THE KINGDOM MISINTERPRETED. This request seems to have arisen from the promise given in Chap. 19.28, and this mother was doubtless one of those who thought that the kingdom was immediately to appear. (Matt. 27.56; Mark 15.40; Luke LO slay) CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE 43 Therefore say I unto you, the 44 And he that falleth on this stone kingdom of God shall be taken away ~- shall be broken to pieces; but on whom from you, and shall be given to a soever it shall fall, it will scatter him nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. as dust. Vers. 43,44. THE REJECTION OF THE JEWISH NATION. Ver. 43. Returning to the parable, our Lord announces more plainly than ever to them their rejection by God. “a nation bringing. forth the fruits thereof’’,—The reference is no doubt, as Alford says, to the holy nation, the peculiar people of God, the Church of the truly faithful. (1 Pet. 2.9 and Acts 15.14.) It is quite 324 MATTHEW true, as Whedon says, that our Lord here predicts again the fall of the Jews and the call of the Gentiles, but as Meyer, Olshausen and Fausset say, the community of believers referred to consists not of the Gentiles in par- ticular (Eu. Vol. Keim.), but of the whole of the future subjects of the kingdom, conceived of as one people, consisting chiefly of Gentiles of course until “‘all Israel should be saved’’. Gaebelein objects to the view just stated by saying that the Church is called “‘the body of Christ’’, “‘the Bride of Christ’’, “the habitation of God by the Spirit’, “‘the Lamb’s wife’, but never a nation. He therefore refers the expression to the believing remnant of the Jews, but there is hardly sufficient argument in support of his objections and of his view. Ver. 44. There is no doubt here a reference to the second chapter of Daniel. The idea is, Whoever falls on Christ, i. e., stumbles over Him as a ‘‘rock of offense’ (I Pet. 2.8; Isa. 8.14,15) in the days of His humilia- tion shall be broken, i. e., shall have great sorrow; but to incur His wrath, to have Him fall on them at His Second Coming to judgment means ‘utter destruction. “scatter him as dust’’,—Literally, ‘‘shall winnow him’’, suggested by Dan. 2.35 where the image broken to pieces became as the chaff of the threshing floor. The idea is that of being thrown off like chaff from the winnowing fan. Ellicott, Whedon and others, who refer both parts of the expression to the present dispensation which began with the first coming of Christ, say the second part of the verse refers to Christ, or the Church with which He identifies Himself, coming into collision with the powers that oppose Him, when it shall grind them to pieces and scatter them like dust. While the reference is a general one, Gaebelein says with propriety that the first part of the verse refers to the Jews and the second part to the Gentiles. The first part has been fulfilled and the second part will be when. at His coming He falls on the world-powers, the Gentile govern- ments, and grinds them to powder. Godet, who seems to agree with Gaebelein, says, “It is dangerous to encounter this stone whether by dashing against it while yet it is laid on the ground, as Israel is doing, or whether when it shall be raised to the top of the building, men provoke it to fall on their own heads as other nations shall one day do.” CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE 39 For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me. henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. Ver. 39. THE GLAD WELCOME OF OUR LORD AT HIS SECOND COMING. You shall not see me henceforth until that day, the subject of all prophecy, when the repentant Jewish nation shall turn with true and loyal Hosannahs and blessing to greet Him whom they have pierced. Pent, 4:3.0/3:191sa/'66:20;*Hos. 3°4,5;"Zech 12.10; 14.8411.) “he that cometh’’,—Not in the destruction of Jerusalem (Wet.), because Christ was not then hailed as here predicted; but that Second 325 MATTHEW Coming when He shall appear in the glory of the Messiah. (M. E. A. G. S. B. L. Au. Oo. Ew. Hof. Whe. Theo. Sche.) It is a mistake therefore to take the verse as the conversion of Israel in her development down to the Second Coming. Ellicott says, ‘‘There can be little doubt that our Lord points to the Second Advent and to the welcome that will then be given Him by all the true Israel of God. For the generation of His day and for the outward Israel as such the abandonment was final.”’ Owen, who will not think of a visible, bodily return of Christ, says, “Prophecy discloses to us the fact that the Jewish nation as such will eventually acknowledge Jesus as Messiah. He will then come, not in bodily form, but in the Spirit to sit upon the throne of His father, David, and then shall be uttered this ‘blessed’.”’ CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR 1 And Jesus went out from the tem- but the end is not yet. 7 For nation ple, and was going on His way; and his disciples came to hirn to show him the buildings of the temple. 2 But he answered and said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. 3 And as he sat on the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy ‘coming, and of “the end of the world? 4 And Jesus answered, and said unto them, Take heed that no man lead you astray. 5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am the Christ; and shall lead many astray. 6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that ye be not troubled: for these things must needs come to pass, IGr. presence *Or, the consummation of the age shall arise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be famines and earthquakes in divers places. 8 But all these things are the beginning of travail. 9 Then shall they deliver you up unto tribulation, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all the nations for my name’s sake. 10 And then shall many stumble, and shall “de- liver up one another, and shall hate one another. 11 And many false prophets shall arise, and shall lead many astray. 12 And because iniquity shall be multiplied, the love of the many shall wax cold. 13 But he that endur- eth to the end, the same shall be saved. 14 And ‘this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole °world for a testimony unto all the nations; and then shall the end come. 8See ch. 10.4. 4Or, these good tidings 5Gr. inhabited earth Vers. 1-14. THE COURSE OF THIS PRESENT AGE. It is difficult to exegete this twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew and the parallel chapters in Mark and Luke intelligently without knowing whether the various parts refer to the Destruction of Jerusalem or to the Parousia. Some say that this chapter refers exclusively to the invisible return of Christ at the Destruction of Jerusalem; but verses 29-31 contra- dict this. Godet says, ‘‘Matthew combines in the answer of Jesus the two sub- jects indicated in the question as Matthew has expressed it, and he unites them in so intimate a way that all attempts to separate them in the text from Chrysostom to Ebrard and Meyer have broken down.” It must be remembered that we have here only a partial report of the discourse of Jesus, and even when taken with the account in Mark and 326 MATTHEW Luke, it is quite probable that only a fraction of all that Jesus said has ~ been preserved for us. Prof. Erdman, too, thinks with Godet that the Lord is describing not one event, but two, “‘prophesying’’, as Erdman says, ‘‘the literal over- throw of the holy city by the armies of Rome, but using the colors of this tragic scene to paint the picture of His own coming in glory.”’ The question of the Disciples in Mark and Luke refers presumably only to the Destruction of Jerusalem, and so, presumably, the answer of Jesus as well. Alford says the events in this chapter run parallel; Verses 4 to 28 describe the Destruction of Jerusalem primarily and the Parousia secondarily. Verses 29 to 44 describe the Parousia primarily and the Destruction of Jerusalem secondarily. Verses 45 to 51 describe the Parousia alone. Ebrard gives us much the same division except that he ascribes verses 4 to 14 to the Parousia. Owen refers verses 4 to 44 to the Destruction of Jerusalem and with Alford and Ebrard refers verses 44 to 51 to the Parousia. Others again refer the first 14 verses to the Destruction of Jerusalem and verses 15 on to the Parousia. Gaebelein and his school, on the other hand, refer the entire chapter to the Parousia and contend that no reference is to be had to the Destruction of Jerusalem in this part of the Lord’s discourse, this being set forth wholly by Luke in his Gospel. The first section of the discourse, the one with which we are now concerned, ends with verse 44, and we have accordingly four different ways of viewing the content of this remarkable passage: (a) Those who think it was all fulfilled in the past at the time of the Destruction of Jerusalem. (b) Those who think it is all to be yet fulfilled during the time of the great tribulation just before the coming of the Lord in glory and in judgment on the antichristian forces of the world after the Church has been caught up according to the fourth chapter of I Thessalonians. (c) “Those who think it is being fulfilled in this present dispensation and is to find its final and more awful fulfillment in the great tribulation through which the Church herself will pass in the time of the end. (d) Those who see part fulfillment in the Destruction of Jerusalem and the other part in the Parousia which is still in the future. We shall endeavor to deal fairly with all these views, carrying them along side by side, that the student may the more easily resolve the situa- tion, if indeed it can be done with unquestioning satisfaction. Some say that Jesus thought of the Destruction of Jerusalem and His Second Coming as at the same time, but, 1. This denies His infallibility. 2. It is a contradiction of His own words in Mark 13.32. 3. Luke 21.24 proves conclusively that He did not so think, nor think of His Second Coming as so near at hand. Bi MATTHEW Ver. 1. In pointing out the magnificence of the temple they doubt- less had in mind the reference made to it by Christ in Chap. 23.38. i “his disctples’’,—Luke says ‘“‘some’’, while Mark says, “one of his © disciples’, probably Peter. Ver. 2. ‘See ye not’’, etc..—This sentence in Luke is an affirmation, but whether it be taken as an affirmation or a question the sense is the same, serving to call attention to the prophetic doom awaiting the city. Ver. 3. “the disciples’’,-From Mark we learn that it was Peter, James, John and Andrew. There are only two questions here; they wanted to know when the destruction foretold would take place, and then they wanted to know the sign of two things, namely, His coming and the end of the world, which two things in their minds were to occur at the same time. (Gab.) “the sign of thy coming’’,—The word here is ““Parousia’’ (presence) and is the ordinary expression for the Coming of the Lord. Whedon says, “the word ‘Parousia’ never in the whole New Testa- ment signifies anything else than a bodily presence, and the Destruction of Jerusalem ts never implied by this term.” Olshausen says this Parousia is synonomous with “‘appearing”’ (I Tim. 4.14) and “his revelation” (I Cor. 1.7). Olshausen further maintains that as the Old Testament prophets made no distinction between Christ’s coming in humiliation and His com- ing in glory, i. e., His first and second coming; so the Gospel makes no distinction between His coming in glory at the end of the age and the end of the world, supposing as they did that both would. take place at the same time. So also Meyer says, ‘‘In the Gospels we find no trace of the Millennium idea of the Apocalypse.” ; “the end of the world’’,—Literally, “the end of the age’, which in their minds were the same. It means, as Alexander says, ““‘When will this existing state of things, this system of dispensation be completed, wound up or brought to a conclusion.” ‘Alford says, “Christ gave them enough to guide them from error in supposing the Second Coming to be near at hand and at the same time from carelessness in not expecting it as near.”’ Meyer says, this age is to have a stormy and a wicked end during the time calledin I Peter 1.5, “‘the last time’’, and in Acts 2.17 and II Tim. 3.1, “‘the last days’. He warns us, however, against confounding these designations with the expression, “‘the last day’’ of John 6.39 and 11.24, at which time, he says, the advent, the resurrection and the judgment are to take place. Ver. 4. According to a large number of authorities verses 4 to 14 record the answer of Jesus as it relates, primarily at least, to the Destruction of Jerusalem. (A. O. E. B. G. Ow. Ca. Hof. Whe. Ros. Gro. Krebs.) This is quite the natural view inasmuch as the first question of the Disciples relates to this event, and besides in Luke the only question asked concerned the Destruction of Jerusalem and in answering it Jesus made use practically of the very same language as that found here in Matthew. Gaebelein, on the other hand, says this part of the discourse is a pre- diction of how the Jewish age will end, the age following the Rapture of 328 MATTHEW the Church, the age which therefore has not ended but which has been “‘interrupted”’ by this present dispensation, “‘until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled’, the end of the age referring to the seventieth week of Daniel, and verses 4 to 14 referring to the first three and one-half years of that period. This author calls attention to the fact that there is not a word in this discourse about Jerusalem or the Destruction of the temple: that this is reserved for Luke; that Luke says that after the siege the Jews were led away captive and Jerusalem was trodden down, whereas in Matthew, instead of a scattering of the elect people, we have a gathering of them (verse 31), the word “‘elect’’ referring to literal Israel. But this is hardly fair, because this passage about the elect may be and is referred to the Parousia even by the majority of those who take the former portion of the chapter as referring to the Destruction of Jerusalem. There is, however, no strong reason why the passage may not be taken here, as it may also in Luke, as a brief summary of the course of this present age (L. Er. Sco.) , and there are some statements in the passage that can be thus resolved with less difficulty than otherwise. We shall there- fore so explain it here, carrying along with the explanation, however, such reference as incline others to apply the passage to the Destruction of Jerusalem, or even yet to the time after the Rapture of the Church, as some contend. Ver. 5. “itn my name’’,—Not in the name or authority of Jesus, but claiming the title of Jesus, claiming to be the Messiah, the Christ Himself. “T am Christ’’,—History records no such pretenders before the De- struction of Jerusalem, although doubtless there may have been. Bar- cochba did not appear until after the Destruction of Jerusalem, and Simon Magus, Theudas, Meander and Dositheus, who have been referred to as cases in point by those referring the passage to that event, did not pretend to be the Christ. Olshausen admits that the fact no such false Messiahs are recorded prior to the Destruction of Jerusalem indicates that the whole prophecy was not fulfilled at that time, but points further on to the coming of the Lord at the end of the age. _Gaebelein says that the false Christs of other days and of today are but faint shadows of what will take place in the end time soon to come. Ver. 6. “‘wars and rumors of wars’’,—Not perhaps as Meyer says, “Wars in the neighborhood and wars in the distance of which only the rumors are heard’, but rather the rumors of wars are the conflicting, exag- gerated and frightful rumors which precede the approach of war and which cause so much panic. Lange says that all wars are meant down to the Parousia, while De Wette, Meyer, and others say that history records no such wars prior to the Destruction of Jerusalem. Alford, on the other hand, makes men- tion of these wars as well as divers earthquakes and famines. “these things must come to pass’’,—In pursuance of the divine pur- pose. The words are calculated to inspire a calm and reasonable frame of mind. 329 MATTHEW “but the end is not yet’’,—The “end”’ referred to is doubtless ‘‘the end of the age’ mentioned in verse 3 (L. D. Ow. BI. Eb. Au. Cre. Hoe. Chr. Ges.), although others refer it to the end of the tribulation before the Destruction of Jerusalem. Ver. 7. De Wette says that no particular instances can be enumer- ated, but Lange on the other hand, who contends that the passage com- bines in one view the whole period down to the end, says, ‘“These insur- rections, famines, earthquakes and other plagues which are here adduced were before the Destruction of Jerusalem by no means so insignificant as for instance De Wette asserts.”’ Godet says, ‘“The time which preceded the Destruction of Jerusalem was signalized in the east by many calamities, a dreadful famine which took place under Claudius, and by the earthquake which destroyed Laodicea and other cities in A. D. 68. At Czsarea 20,000 Jews were massacred in a fight with the Gentiles, and 30,000 died in Rome of a pestilence.” ‘Tacitus gives us a narrative full of earthquakes, wars and crimes, and describes the period as one “‘rich in calamities, horrible with battles, rent with seditions, and even savage in peace itself.’ This passage could therefore be made to refer to the Destruction of Jerusalem as well as to this present age or the times at the end of this age. Gaebelein says the “‘pestilences and earthquakes’’ of our times are but harbingers of the far greater ones during the actual “‘end of the age’ still to come. Ver. 8. “the beginnings of travatl’’,—They stand in relation to what is to follow as the beginnings of the birth-pangs do to the much severer pains which follow. Ver. 9. “‘Then’’,—Not after the things of verses 6 and 7 have taken place, but during that time. (L. A. M.) In Luke it says, “before all these things’’,— his seems to present a contradiction which Godet escapes by taking the word “‘before’’ not in the sense of time but in the sense of importance, i. e., above all things else. Meyer, however, says the word “‘before’’ can only be taken in the sense of ‘“‘previous to’’, and certainly this is its more natural meaning. ‘There is no contradiction between the account of Luke and that of Matthew and Mark, and in order to see this we need not take the preposition | in any other than its natural sense, ‘‘before—previous to”. Matthew says “‘then’’, and this seems to imply, as does the narrative in Mark, that the persecu- tions would follow the signs, but in verse 6 of Matthew we are told what shall take place before the end comes and this verse corresponds to verses 8 and 9 in Luke. ‘Then verses 7 and 8 in Matthew correspond to verses 10 and 11 in Luke, and these verses both in Matthew and Luke, which tell of certain things which are “the beginnings of sorrow”’’, are in each case a parenthetical warning of what shall happen before the end, Then having stated that “these things are the beginnings of sorrow’’, the chronology is resumed in all three accounts, the ‘“‘then’’ in Matthew going back to verse 6 while in Luke the word “‘before’’ refers back to the same time, the word itself meaning “‘before the things mentioned in the paren- thetical statement’. The whole difficulty arises from not pep appre- ciating the force of the expression, “‘the beginnings of sorrow’ 330 __ MATTHEW “hated of all nations’’,—They were slandered by Jewish enemies and considered as atheists and devourers of children. Tacitus charged them with being the enemies of the human race. This verse may apply with equal fitness to either of the three times under consideration. Gaebelein of course refers those “‘delivered up and killed” to the martyrs of the Jewish remnant during the great tribulation after the rapture of the Church as mentioned in Rev. 6.9-11. “Certainly”, says Lange, “‘this must refer to religious persecutions of modern times as well as to those of earlier times, the Disciples being in this the representatives of all Christians.”’ Ver. 10. “’Then’’,—As in verse 9. “many’’,—Christians. ““stumble’’,—Renounce Christ and become apostate because of perse- cution, or, especially if the verse be applied to this age, because of new phases of truth presented, or because of the delayed coming of the Lord, the first reason being, however, the chief one. “deliver up one another’’,—The apostates shall deliver up the Chris- tians, says Meyer, while Lange thinks of the persecutions inflicted by one Christian sect upon another. Ver. 11. ‘“‘false prophets’’,—False teachers. “hey should not be more precisely defined as to the nature of their prophecy or their particular teaching. Wate 4, “the love of many shall wax cold’’,—Doubtless of the majority. Ver. 13. “he that endureth to the end’’,—The “‘end”’ here is not death (Eb. Ow. El. Kui.), which the context forbids; but the end of the period of which the Lord was speaking. If the passage be referred to the Destruction of Jerusalem, then the being “‘saved’’ will doubtless refer to escape through flight to Pella from the doom of those involved in the destruction of the city. (E. Hof. Ros. Kre.) If, on the other hand, it be referred to the end of the age, then the deliverance is that which comes to the faithful who go through the Great Tribulation before the coming of the Lord. (M. L. Whe.) Ver. 14. “‘this Gospel of the kingdom’’,—The Gospel which Christ was then preaching, i. e., the Gospel of the Messianic, universal kingdom. “in all the world’’,—Mark reads, ‘‘among all nations’; Alford and Ellicott limit this to? the Roman Empire, but it refers rather to the then inhabited earth. Olshausen says that this preaching is now going on and this verse opposes the view that refers this part of the discourse to the Destruction of Jerusalem alone, because such a proclamation of the Gospel he declares did not take place before that event. Owen and others, on the other hand, maintain the very opposite. The fact is it is impossible for any one to say when this witness is complete. (Er. Bla.) When the Gospel was preached at Pentecost there were present ‘devout men out of every nation under heaven’’. The Dis- ciples ““went forth and preached everywhere’ (Acts 8.4 and Mark 16.20). Ee a MATTHEW In Romans it says, ‘‘their words went unto the ends of the world’”’ (same word as in our text). Paul says in Col. 1.23 that the Gospel. had already been “‘preached to every creature which ts under heaven’’. Again there are those who make a distinction between the Gospel of grace to which we have just been referring, and the “Gospel of the king- dom’’ mentioned in our text, declaring that this latter is to be preached not for the purpose of gathering the Church, but “‘for a witness to all nations’, and. that it is the Gospel mentioned in Rev. 14.6 as preached by the Jewish remnant during the time of the great tribulation. (Sco. Gab. Mack.) But there is scarcely sufficient warrant for this limitation,.nor is it a necessary part of the general view of the Lord’s coming which the author- ities just quoted maintain. “for a testimony’ ,— 1. Owen says it was that the whole world might be acquainted with the fact of the Jewish rejection of Christ by reason of which Jeru- salem was to be destroyed. But this is quite too limited. 2. Ancient expositors largely agree with Meyer in making it mean for the conviction and condemnation of the Gentile nations. It does not, however, say “‘against’”’ the nations but “unto” them. 3. Whedon says it was in order that all might believe and be con- verted, but Dorner says, and we think rightly, that it was in order that all might accept or reject the Gospel thus preached, resulting accordingly in either life or death. “then shall the end come’’,—The “‘end’’-is unquestionably “‘the end of the age’ about which the Disciples asked in verse 3, and seemingly the end of the troubles that are to precede the Messianic advent. Owen and others of course apply it to the overthrow of Jerusalem. Others (L. Bl. Eb. Whe. Dor. Hof. Cre.) say the reference here, as in verse 13, is to the end of the world proper. It is not said in this verse that all shall be converted. 15 When therefore ye see the abomi- nation of desolation, which was ‘spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in “the holy place (let him that readeth understand), 16 then let them that are in Judea flee unto the mountains: 17 let him that is on the housetop not go down to take out the things that are in his house; 18 and let him that is in with child and to them that give suck in those days! 20 And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on a sabbath: 21 for then shall be great tribulation, such as hath not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, nor ever shall: be. 22 And except © those days had been shortened, no flesh would have been saved: but for the the field not return back to take his elect’s sake those days shall be short- cloak. 19 But woe unto them that are ened. 2 Dany 9.2/7 cmelty sare ene “Or, a holy place Vers. 15-22. "THE GREAT TRIBULATION. This section is made to refer to the Destruction of Jerusalem by per- haps the great majority of commentators. (L.M.B.D.S.E. A. O. BI. EL. Wi. Eb. Ev. Ow. Chr. Eut. Hug. Whe. Gro. Wet. Wie. Kui. Pau. Fri. Jer. Wor. Theo. Nast, and most Fathers.) There are three principal reasons why it is so taken by the authorities just mentioned: , S22 1-1, MATTHEW The same instruction about fleeing to the mountains are given in Luke where the reference is without doubt to the Destruction of Jerusalem and it is only natural to think of these words being used in the same sense in the passage in Matthew. .The destruc- tion of Jerusalem would then be a type of the final catastrophe, and, says Olshausen, ‘“‘whatever the abomination of desolation was, it is a type of what is recorded in II Thess. 2.4, to which this prophecy properly and finally refers’. There is considerable force in this argument. It was to this, they say, that the question of the Disciples chiefly referred and it is but natural to think that Christ is answering the question proposed to Him. But it is by no means clear that this was the principal question of the Disciples. It was this of course that led to the questioning, but the latter question about the end of the age was fully as prominent and important and a matter about which the Disciples were far more concerned than they could possibly be about the Destruction of Jerusalem. ‘The reason would have more force in it if it were true, as so many maintain, that the three events mentioned in the third verse of this chapter lay in the minds of the Disciples as occurring at one and the same time. But Luke 21.24 shows conclusively that Luke at least did not so think of these events. We must so conclude or concede that the last part of the verse is an interpolation, or that Luke wrote after the Destruction of Jerusalem, neither of which opinions we are inclined to think of as tenable. If then Luke did not conceive of the three events as being simultaneous what right have we for concluding that the other writers did? There are, on the other hand, some arguments of considerable worth against so taking the passage and in favor of referring it to the great tribu- lation period just before the coming of the Lord: ae The quotation from Daniel 12 says, “At that time thy people shall be delivered’’, and most assuredly they were not delivered in the days of Titus when Jerusalem was destroyed—they were massacred by the millions and dispersed in every direction. It must be true therefore that Daniel speaks of an end far later than that of the Destruction of Jerusalem. The difficult connection with the words of verse 29, “Immediately after the tribulation of those days’, is altogether resolved by this explanation. Alford, who parallels the two events in his explanation, says, ‘This citation from Daniel has in the Destruction of Jerusalem its immediate fulfillment, but its final fulfillment is yet future; for Daniel is speaking of the end of all things.”’ Ver. 15. “‘Therefore’’,—This is not to be taken, as Wiesler says, as “resuming the thread broken by verse 3’’, but rather signifying a transition to the announcement which follows, and so to be taken, with De Wette and Meyer, as meaning ‘‘therefore’’, i. e., in consequence of these sorrows which are but the beginning of the greater calamity now about to be an- nounced. It seems to connect what follows with that which went before 333 MATTHEW as something following in natural sequence, and it would seem therefore that if this section be referred to the Destruction of Jerusalem, so ought the former one; and so too if this section be referred to the great tribulation, © then ought the former one be referred to the course of this present age down to its close, or to the earlier part of the Great Tribulation itself, as Gaebe- lein takes it. “abomination of desolation’ ,— Among the views of those referring the passage to the Destruction of Jerusalem are the following: Ly The statue of Titus or Hadrian erected on the sight of the deso- lated temple. (Chr. Eut. Theo., and most Fathers.) But this was after the destruction of the temple; and furthermore it was not in the temple. The Roman army with its standards planted on the sacred soil which surrounds the city (G.), an abomination because pagan and a desolation because conquering and devastating (Whe.). The internal desecration of the temple by the Jewish Zealots under pretense of defending it. (A. E. S. Bl. El. Hug. Wer. Nast. ) Alford says that the first two evangelists were writing as Jews to the Jews, and therefore give the inner or domestic sign of the ap- proaching calamity which was to be seen in the temple and which was to be the abomination which was to cause the desolation; but that Luke, writing for the Gentiles, gives the outward state of things corresponding to this inward sign, the inward sign being the profanation of the temple by the Zealots and the outward sign being the approach of the army under Cestius. Olshausen says that neither the work of the Zealots nor the Roman army can be the thing in mind for three reasons: (a) Neither has a religious character, which character is indi- cated by the term “‘abomination’”’ as used in connection with the Holy Place. (b) The term “‘holg place’’ must relate only to the temple and cannot relate to the holy land nor to the land around the temple. (c) The word “‘standing”’ is incompatible with either of the two explanations mentioned. There is little if any force in the first objection of Olshausen, while the second certainly has no bearing on the inward sign, and the third puts a construction on the word “‘standing’’ which ought not to be unduly pressed. Meyer says the expression refers to the ‘‘vile and loathesome abom- inations practiced by the conquering Romans on the place where the temple stood,’’ while others (B. D. L. Gro.) refer it to the “Roman eagles, as military ensigns, rising over the site of the temple’. There are those who oppose this view because the expression refers to something that took place before the destruction of the temple; nor will they permit it to refer to the besieging 334 | MATTHEW legions of Cestius because it is said to be “‘standing’’ in the holy place. But Luke’s account, where the reference to the Destruction of Jerusalem is unmistakable, says, ““when ye se Jerusalem encompassed with armies’. ; The words simply say, “‘the abominable desolation in the holy place’, and the safest interpretation is that which sees reference to the doings of the heathen conquerors during and after the siege of the temple (B. D. L. Eb. Gro. Wet. Wie.), although the reference to the Zealots in the temple may reasonably be included. “the holy place’’,—This refers to the temple or the place of the tem- ple, and not to Palestine nor the neighborhood about Jerusalem (B. Wie. Schot.), nor to the mount of Olives (Gro.), these interpretations having been adopted on the ground that it would be too late to flee after the temple was taken. Those who refer the passage to the time of the Parousia, with which is connected the great tribulation, refer the expression to the Antichrist of II Thess. 2.4. (Ew. Sco. Gab. Ori. Lud. Klo. Mack.) It is under his rule that the great tribulation is to take place. “let him that readeth understand’’,—T hese are the words of Matthew himself, intimating the near approach of the signs and warning his readers to note the admonition to escape. (M.B. L. Ow. Whe.) This is by far the most preferable explanation and is favored by Mark 13.14. It is not therefore to be considered as a marginal note by the copyist (A.), nor as the words of Jesus Himself, pointing to the reading in Daniel, ““Know therefore and understand’. (E. S. Ba. Chr. Wor. Hen. Eut. Pau. Nast.) If they were the words of Jesus would He not have used “‘heareth’’ instead of “‘readeth’’? Ver. 16. “In Judea’,—Not perhaps Judea in distinction from Jerusalem (M. Whe.), but both Jerusalem and the contiguous places (Ow.) as is plainly indicated in Luke. Those in the city were to get out and those out of the city in Judea round about were not to enter the city but to flee also. Those who refer the passage to the Destruction of Jerusalem find the fulfillment of this and the following verses in the flight of the Christians to Pella, while Gaebelein and his school refer it to admonition given to the Jewish Christians who will be in Judea at the time of the appearing of the Antichrist. It could hardly with appropriate sense be applied to the Church in general which some are inclined to think is to pass through the great tribulation. The fact also that the admonition is to those “‘in Judea’ points strongly to one or the other of the other views. It is quite certain also that if the Church is not to pass through the great tribulation there could then be no propriety whatever in advising Christians to flee at the coming of their Lord or to pray that their flight be not in winter when the days were short and severe or on the Sabbath day when the gates of the towns were closed and food could not be procured or that a woman might not be giving suck to a child. Ver. 17. A man could run on the top of the flat-roofed houses to the walls of the city and so escape (E. Mi. Fri. Win. Pau. Kui.) ; the -primary thought, however, being as others say (L. B. Ow. Gro. Wet.), Deo MATTHEW that they should not come down to go into the house for any household goods but should escape at once. Ver. 19. The tone is of pity rather than denunciation. Christian mothers would find escape harder. Jewish mothers, it developed, during the siege of Jerusalem ate their own children in their awful extremity. Ver. 20. In the winter the days were short, the roads were bad and it was cold. On the Sabbath day the gates of the towns would be closed and the securing of provisions would be difficult. Should the same conditions prevail concerning the Sabbath during the time of the great tribulation as prevailed during the time before the Destruction of Jerusa- lem their flight might be hindered in either case by the Jews if they in any way disregarded the Jewish law about travel on the Sabbath, which was to be only five furlongs. Ver. 21. If the verse be referred to the Destruction of Jerusalem it is a fact that over one million Jews perished. Josephus says nothing like it was ever known before, and Bloomfield says, ‘““Never to this day has it been paralleled.”’ Ver. 22. ‘“‘those days’’,—To be taken either as the days of the destruction of Jerusalem (L. M. E. A. Ow. Whe.) or of the great tribula- tion at the end of the age yet to come. “had been’’,—i. e., by the decree of God. Their length had been fixed in the eternal counsels of God. “shortened’’,—It is not that the length of the days themselves were shortened (Li. Fri.), but that the number of the days were shortened. (L. Melos “no. flesh’’,—1. e., no man.. This verse may be explained appropri- ately according to either view. How the siege of Jerusalem was provi- dentially shortened is a matter of history, else the whole nation would have perished. “fot the elect’s sake’’,—If the great tribulation be thought of as before the rapture, the elect here mentioned must refer to all of Christ’s followers then living; if it be thought of as after the rapture, with the Church having been caught away, the elect must refer to the elect remnant of the Jews, whereas if it be thought of in connection with the Destruction of the Jews the elect will refer to the Christians then among the Jews (M. E. Whe.), although some (A. L. Eb. Ow.) include those who were in bas ae to be converted and gathered in from among the Jews and entiles. Gaebelein declares that the term “‘elect’’ in the Epistles always refers to the Church, but that in this chapter, as well as throughout the Gospels, always means His earthly people, the Jews. ; 23 Then if any man shall say unto as to lead astray, if possible. even the you, Lo, here is the Christ, or, Here: elect. 25 Behold, I have told you be- believe ‘it not. 24 For there shall arise forehand. 26 If therefore they shall say unto. you, Behold, he is in the false Christs, and false prophets, and wilderness; go not forth: Behold, he is shall show great signs and wonders; so in the inner chambers; believe *7t not. 1Or, him “Or, them 336 MATTHEW 27 Por as the lightning cometh forth Son of man. 28 Wheresoever the car- from the east, and is seen even unto the case is, there will the eagles be gathered west; so shall be the “coming of the together. ; 3Gr. presence Vers. 23-26. PREDICTION CONCERNING THE FALSE CHRISTS. It is at this point that such expositors as Alford and Olshausen, who find the twofold reference in the prophecy, think that the narrative begins to point more to the future Second Coming and less to the Destruction of Jerusalem, while Lange says the transition is here marked without doubt to the Parousia at the end time. It will under no circumstances do to say with Calovius that Christ here passes to His spiritual advent through the Gospel. Ver. 23. “‘Then’’,—1. e., when the desolation and flight shall take place. Christ is still speaking of the time of that period of distress in verse 21. It will hardly do therefore with Lange to say that the word “then” refers to the New Testament interval between the Destruction of Jerusalem and the Parousia. “believe tt not’’,—He shows them in verse 27 that His Second Com- ing was to be from the sky, while these false Christs appear on earth. “The fact that history knows little if anything of such false Christs prior to the Destruction of Jerusalem and the fact that these words could have no possible application to Christians of this age who are instructed to “wait for the Son of God from heaven’ lends some support to the view that the time in question is that after the rapture of the Church and that the warning is intended for the Jewish believing remnant, although it may have a possible reference to the time of the overthrow of the holy city. Ver. 24. “false Christs’’,—i. e., Antichrists,—pretenders. “false ptophets’,—Not perhaps false Christian teachers (L.), nor apostles of the false Christs (Gro.), nor giving themselves out as prophets raised from the dead, Elias, and others (Kui.), but rather false prophets among the Jews pretending to be sent from God and trying to impose upon their fellow countrymen as had been done during national misfortunes of other days. “great signs and wonders’’,—The reference here is to miracles per- formed by Satanic agencies as in II Thess. 2.9. Meyer, Lange, Owen and others think here of “‘lying wonders’’, pretended miracles, but not real. “the elect’’—To be taken either as the Christians in Judea and Jeru- salem who had been converted from among the Jews, or as the believing remnant of the Jews during the times of the Great Tribulation, in keeping with one or the other of the two views under consideration. Ver. 26. Olshausen and Alford say this verse and the following can have no sense whatever except as applied to the coming of Christ in the clouds of heaven, the reference to the Destruction of Jerusalem being but a very faint one indeed. It is in the openness of Christ’s coming to universal observation as contrasted with the secrecy and deception that the words of this verse and the next find their real force. 337 MATTHEW Ver. 27. The coming of the false Christs shall be more or less concealed in the wilderness or in the secret chamber, the quiet of the desert and the secrecy of the chamber being convenient places for the fomenting of - new movements or of rebellion, but the Coming of Christ shall be open and discernible like an all-illuminating flash of light which no one can mistake, its presence to be announced everywhere from east to west over the whole world. Whedon suggests the splendor of the Coming Son of man suspended in the heavens while the earth makes one complete revolution. If this verse were to be interpreted allegorically it could afford no protection whatever against the wiles of the false Christs, because if the coming of Christ was to be invisible and figurative and could be fulfilled in the coming of the Roman armies or of Titus, how then could the warn- ing of verse 26 have any force? No, it is the contrast between the per- sonal coming of a false Christ and the personal coming of the true Christ; the first earthly and lurking, the second heavenly and lightning-like. Owen, of course, insists that the primary reference here is still to the Destruction of the Holy City while its secondary, though higher sense, he says, is to the final Coming of Christ. Ver. 28. “‘eagles’’,——The reference is to carrion-kites, a species of vulture. Some would have us believe there is an allusion here to the eagles of the legions of Cestius. It is better perhaps to think of Christ adopting the term to designate the enemy falling upon its prey, thus founding His expression upon the same symbol that led the armies to adopt the eagles for their standard. ““W heresoever’’, etc..— That is, says Meyer, ‘‘Wheresoever there is a carcase there will Christ come in vengeance.”’ It is quite generally accepted that this explanation of the eagles is the proper one, i. e., Christ coming to judgment, but to what must we refer the “‘carcase’’? Among the different views the following may be noted: 1. The carcase is Christ crucified and the eagles are His saints hasten- ing to meet Him at His Second Coming. (C. Ca. Ze. Jan. Cla. Fri. Fle. Chr. Jer. Eut. Lut. Mue: Era. Bez. Theo.) 2. The carcase refers to the Christian Jews, the elect of Israel, and the eagles to the Messiah. (Witt.) But this overlooks the uni- versal character of the Advent, and besides the carcase can hardly be conceived of as something Christian. 3. The carcase is Jerusalem and the eagles are the Roman army. (Li. Ow. Wol. Cle. Wet. Ham.) There is some merit in this view if in the Roman army we recognize the judgment of God and con- sider the same as a figurative coming of Christ in judgment upon the Jewish nation at that time. 4. The carcase is Jerusalem and the eagles Christ and His angel host at the Parousia, at His coming in glory and judgment at the end of the great tribulation. This is quite similar to the view of Gaebelein, who takes the carcase as the unbelieving portion of the Jewish people living at that time. 338 MATTHEW 5. The carcase is by some referred to corruption in general and the eagles to the false Christs who always gather wherever this is found. But the conjunction “‘for’’ connects the expression directly with the Coming of Christ. Others think of the eagles as the Church, or a certain class of ‘“‘advanced believers’. But this is weak and fanciful and deserving of little if any attention. 6. There are others who think that whether we make the primary reference of the carcase to Jerusalem at the Parousia and the sec- ondary one to Jerusalem at its destruction by Titus, or vice versa, such interpretation is too narrow and localized for such a far- reaching comparison, and that what the Disciples saw fulfilled in the Destruction of Jerusalem is to repeat itself scores of times in the world’s history and to be fulfilled on the largest scale at the Second Coming of Christ. This is all the more true, they seem to think, since it is this advent which seems to be here in question, and furthermore verses 23 to 27 would seem to be against referring this primarily to any definite locality. This, they say, is a con- firmation of the truth of verse 27 that the Advent will announce its presence everywhere, and that from the point of view of the retributive punishment which the Coming One will be called upon to execute. The carcase, therefore, while having doubtless a specific reference to Jerusalem, seems to be a metaphorical expres- sion denoting that which is spiritually dead and doomed to Messianic destruction. (M. G.) 29 But immediately after the tribula- tion of those days the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: 30 and then shall ap- pear the sign of the Son of man in the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he shall send forth his angels ‘with 7a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the other. 4Many ancient authorities read with a great trumpet, and they shall gather &c. *Or, a trumpet of great sound Vers. 29-31. THE RETURN OF THE KING IN GLORY. Ver. 29. “immediately after the tribulation of those days’’,—We are now to deal with the difficulty anticipated when we took the section beginning with verse 15:-as a reference to the Destruction of Jerusalem. Nearly every expositor takes the words now before us as a reference to the Parousia of Christ at the end-time. Perhaps no portion of Scripture has been the subject of more widely divergent opinions as to the time element included in it than this one. It would seem that we have in each of the three Gospels but a partial report of this great discourse of the Master, and we must therefore compare the accounts one with the other, and we must also bear in mind that even then we may not have before us the prophecy in its entirety. Charles R. Erdman has said, ‘‘It is evident that our Lord is describing not one event, but two; He is prophesying the literal overthrow of the Holy City by the armies of Rome, but He is using the colors of this tragic scene to paint the picture of His own coming in glory. So interwoven are these two series of predictions that it is extremely difficult at times to be certain 339 MATTHEW whether the reference is to the nearer or to the more remote of these great events.” Among the various explanations of the words under consideration are the following: 1; Zz Weber says that the word “tmmeduiately’’ belongs to the preceding verse. But all manuscript authority is against such connection. Nast refers verse 29 to the Destruction of Jerusalem, and, to avoid the difficulty, proposes a figurative interpretation of verses 29-36, and sees here a picture of ‘‘a judicial visitation on nominal Chris- tendom by Christ in order to destroy all ungodly institutions and principles in Church and State, of which visitation the overthrow of the Jewish polity was but a type and which is itself in turn the full type of the final and total overthrow of all powers of darkness on the great day of judgment.’’ This makes the Lord’s coming in verses 29 to 36 a providential one and without refer- ence to His final personal coming. The language, however, throughout the entire context is too plain to admit of a toning down of this kind which pulls out of it the very heart of its meaning. . Hammond and Schott say that the translators have made a mis- take and that instead of “‘tmmediately’’ it should have been “‘sud- denly’’, or, ‘“‘unexpectedly’’, the nature of the Advent being de- scribed as swift and surprisingly sudden. But the word used can hardly be made to bear this meaning. Olshausen calls this inter- pretation a ‘“‘makeshift’’. . Owen refers the preceding verses to the Destruction of Jerusalem, and says that the word “‘immediately’’ may be taken in the sense of ‘‘very soon after’, and refers to the comparative brevity of the intervening centuries between the Destruction of Jerusalem and the final Parousia as compared with eternity. But this is not at all satisfying, and something of the objection just made to the ex- planation preceding this one applies to this one. . Wetstein and others do not allow any reference here whatever to the final Parousia but refer the entire context to the Destruction of Jerusalem. They think that verses 32 to 34 refer undoubtedly to the Destruction of Jerusalem and ask, therefore, why verses 29 to 31 should be interposed if they refer to a different and more distant and more august event. They contend also that a refer- ence here to the Parousia would make Christ reply to the simple question of the Disciples in a very confused and perplexing way. ‘They explain the language used as that of prophetic imagery. But the marvelous signs and the details as here presented hardly seem suited to the Destruction of Jerusalem. Then, again, if verses 29 to 31 be referred to the Destruction of Jerusalem, how can the tribulation of verse 21 be represented as past, since the Destruction of Jerusalem, in this case, is the very culmination of that tribulation? . Ellicott and many others (M. D. Cl. Rob. Erd.) say the Parousia is here represented as following immediately upon the Destruction of Jerusalem. Meyer says that all fanciful interpretations of the 340 MATTHEW word “immediately”? come from the supposition that Jesus could not have possibly so spoken; but this, he says, is contrary to all exegetical rule, considering that Jesus repeatedly makes reference elsewhere to His Second Coming as an event that is near at hand. Ellicott, in defense of his explanation, explains the word “imme- diately”’ in three ways: (a) By II Pet. 3.8, where a thousand years are said to be as one day with God. Olshausen says this is not permissible here because the representation is evidently adopted to human conception. (b) God often postpones or hastens His plans, even as man’s purposes are oftentimes modified. (c) Christ, as He has assured us, in His human nature did not know the time of His coming, and so here He spoke in the telescopic sense with the vision of two mountain peaks before him, one beyond the other, but with no intimation of the time intervening between them. This last explanation is the one preferred by Ellicott. . Alford, Lange, Gordon and others (Au. Cre. Whe. Kel.) get rid ’ of the difficulty by transporting Luke’s account into Matthew’s and so making “‘those days’’ cover all the time mentioned in Luke’s passage, namely, the times of the Gentiles during which Jerusalem is downtrodden, immediately after which, etc. Alford then says, in agreement with Ellicott, as above, “‘All the difficulty arising from the word ‘immediately’ comes from con- founding the partial fulfillment (the destruction of Jerusalem) with the ultimate one (the Parousia), of which latter He now speaks directly and mainly.” A. J. Gordon says, “After using language that can only apply to that appalling event (the Destruction of Jerusalem) (verses 19 and 20), He adds, ‘For there shall be great tribulation, such as ever shall be’. How long shall this tribulation continue? Until Christ’s Second Coming. For our Lord declares that ‘tmmedt- ately after the tribulation of those days’ the signs of the advent shall be witnessed, when ‘they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory’. So closely are these two events connected in the prediction that some have argued that Christ’s advent must have actually occurred at the Destruction of Jerusalem in a spiritual or providential sense. But a careful examination of the language used proves beyond question that it is a literal coming that is here described, and that a literal immediateness after the great tribulation is affirmed by the word, ‘immediately’. If we turn to Luke’s Gospel, however, and read his parallel report of our Lord’s words, all becomes plain (Luke 21.23-27). For he makes the tribulation to include the disper- sion of the Jews among all nations, and the treading down of their Holy City by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. In other words, the Great Tribulation covers the entire age from Zion’s captivity to Messiah’s coming.” 341 MATTHEW 8. Gaebelein, Scofield and others find no reference at all in this entire chapter to the Destruction of Jerusalem, but refer it all to the final Parousia at the Second Coming. ‘“‘It is important’, says Gaebelein, “‘to see that the record of the discourse, as given by the Holy Spirit, passes over the answer to the first question, ‘When shall these things be?’ This is evident by the fact that the Lord says not a word in the discourse about Jerusalem or the destruction of the temple; while in Luke we hear that Jerusalem is to be besieged by armies, and the inhabitants are seen falling by the edge of the sword and led away captive into all the nations, and Jerusalem trodden down by the Gentiles—in Matthew we do not find a word of this at all; instead of a scattering of the elect people at the close of the Great Tribulation, we have a gather- ing of the elect.”’ We frankly confess that none of the above explanations, to our mind, fully meet the situation; and we just as frankly confess that we have no better explanation of our own. Our choice lies between the last three. The difficulty with the last explanation is not only that it leaves the main question of the Disciples unanswered, but the similarity of language, as used in both Matthew and Luke, certainly must have some reference to one and the same thing. Compare the statements and the words of Matt. 24.4 to 9 with those of Luke 21.8 to 12 and also the words of verses 16 to 20 of the former with those of verses 21 to 23 of the latter, and it certainly must appear that it looks like an utter wresting of language to make these accounts refer to two entirely separate and distinct occurrences. If this last explanation be set aside the choice must then rest between that of Ellicott (view number 6) and that of Gordon (view number 7). Yet it becomes apparent that if either one of these views be accepted, the other must also be taken as a supplement to it, and consequently these two views become in reality one, and perhaps are to be taken as the best solution of the problem we have been endeavoring to solve. “the sun shall be darkened’’ ,— 1. Dorner says this is a prophetical, figurative delineation of the fall of heathenism, the sun, moon and the stars signifying the nature worship of the heathen. 2. Hengstenberg says the language is figurative and merely illustrative of sad and troublous times. 3. Meyer, Olshausen and others (B. Ow. B-C. Pau. Schot.) contend that the language must be taken literally in the sense of obscura- tion. This is much to be preferred, the obscurations finding their explanation in II Pet. 3.10-12. Owen explains the expression as a total eclipse of the sun as the result of a smoky, lowering atmosphere such as usually precedes earthquakes and similar convulsions of nature, the description being a frequent one in Scripture. “the moon shall not give her light’’,—To be explained similarly with the expression concerning the sun. “the stars shall fall from heaven’’,— 1. Allegorically: ; (a) The downfall of the Jewish commonwealth. (Wet.) o42 MATTHEW (b) The downfall of heathen star-worship. (Dor.) (c) The downfall of those who shone brightly in the Church. (Wor.) Wordsworth also refers the darkening of the sun to the solar light of Christ’s truth being dimmed, and the moon not giving its light he refers to the lunar orb of the Church being obscured by heresy. Augustine also refers the expression to the obscuration of the Church. 2. Stars literally falling, according to the notion that they were fixed in the heavens. Meyer says, “The falling of the stars, i. e., the whole of the stars, as the expression must be taken, is im- possible; but it need not surprise us to see such an idea introduced into a prophetic picture so grandly poetical as this. But this seems to ascribe an error to Christ or at least His acquiescence in one; and furthermore we must surely see something more than mere poetry in this description. 3. Phenomenal appearances, shooting stars and meteors popularly mistaken for real stars. (C. Ow. Fri. Kui.) 4. Literal obscuration finding explanation in II Pet. 3.10-12, as above. (B. O. L. Pau.) Lange says the reference is to the planets becoming disassociated from the solar system and taking their places in heavenly constellation according to II Pet. 3.10-12. But there is too much surmise about this phase of this last explan- ation. The fourth view is perhaps the more acceptable. “the powers of heaven shall be shaken’’,— 1. The host of stars. This is a very common view (Isa. 34.4), but it is a bit tautological after the words, “‘the stars shall fall’. 2. The angel world. (O. Jer. Chr. Eut.) But this is somewhat inconsistent with the word “shaken’’, and besides the whole refer- ence is to the physical domain. 3. The laws and forces by which the sun, moon and stars are kept in the courses, i. e., the powers which uphold the heavens, which stretch them out and produce the phenomena. (E. A. L. M.) This is by far the better view. “shaken’’,—The word refers to a literal tossing to and fro as a ship on the waves. Ver. 30. Says Ewald, ‘““While the whole world is being convulsed the heaven-sent Messiah appears in glory.” “then shall appeat’’,—Not merely to the elect (Cre.), but universally, to be in keeping with what follows. (M.) “the sign’’,—i. e., the sign inquired about in verse 3. _ Perhaps this sign cannot be imagined until it comes, but among the various views the following will be of interest: 1. The star of the Messiah. (O. BI. Fle.) 2. The rending of heaven and the appearing of angels. (Heb.) go feGrosse (Hi. Cy. Wor: Chr. Jer. Aug. and Alford. with some reserve. ) 343 MATTHEW 4. A lightning flash. 5. The signs of verse 29. (Hui. Schot.) -But the definite article “the’’ requires a definite sign. The word “‘then’’ is also apparently ~ against this view. 6. The Son of man Himself. (Dan, 7,13.) (E. B. Ew.‘Hen. Hof. Fri.) But this is seemingly inconsistent with the following, “They shall see the Son of man’’, and it is inconsistent also with the question of the Disciples who asked for a sign of His coming. 7. The dawning of the Messianic glory, growing brighter and brighter until Christ appears in the midst of it. (M, D. L. Whe.) This is the better explanation. “all the tribes of the earth’’,—In Zech. 12.10 this seems to be con- fined to the tribes of Israel, but here it seems the rather to be universal. “mourn’’,—The words, it would seem, apply to the inhabitants of the whole earth. The reference is primarily to those who have done evil, who pierced Him then and in every age since. (E. L. M. Ew. Dor.) Ewald rightly says that penitence is not to be excluded from the mourning. It may be interesting just here to note the words of Owen, who in- sists that these verses together with all that has gone before refer to the Destruction of Jerusalem. He says the appearance is not a literal one, but virtually so; Christ’s vengeance was to be so real that they would recog- nize His hand in it just as though they had really seen Him with their own eyes, “coming on the clouds of heaven’’,—The clouds are doubtless literal clouds lighted by His glory. It seems to indicate with evident clearness that this coming of Christ is to be a visible one. Alford says that the coming of this verse is the same as that in I Thess. 4.16-17, and that it is a coming for judgment which occurs at the com- mencement of the Millennium when Christ first establishes His Millennial Kingdom. Alford furthermore says the reference is not to the judgment in Matt. 25.31, which judgment he refers to the end of the Millennial Kingdom. “with power and great glory’ ’,—The power and glory of the king- dom which is displayed in the accompanying angel hosts of verse 31. Ver. 31. ‘“‘he shall send forth’’,—1i. e., from the clouds of heaven. “with a. great sound of a trumpet’’,—It is not that the individual angels blow each one a trumpet, but what is meant is the trumpet of God, which is sounded while Christ is sending forth His angels especially em- ployed in His service. When is this trumpet sounded? According to Scofield, Torrey, Morgan, Gaebelein, Pettingill and others of this school it is the trumpet sounded at the close of the supposed seven years and at the beginning of the Millennium, when Christ comes with His saints (the raptured and resurrected Church), and the elect, who are gathered out, refer especially to the believing Jews who have been con- verted during the seven years of tribulation, the resurrection of other be- lievers and the transformation of living believers having taken place at, or just before, the beginning of the seven year period. 344 MATTHEW Most pre-millennial expositors do not seem to make any place for the ‘seven year period just mentioned, but say that this passage refers to the time of the resurrection of believers, commonly called the First Resurrec- tion, and they refer the trumpet to the one blown in I Thess. 4.16. (M. A. G. L. E.) Meyer and Lange identify this trumpet also with that of I Cor. 15.52, but Alford refers this latter to the great trumpet of what he calls the general resurrection at the end of the Millennium. “his elect’’,—These elect are, of course, according to the authorities just quoted, the chosen of God of all ages who are caught up at the coming of the Lord, but according to Scofield, and those of his school, they must refer to certain elect ones, the Jews, who have believed during the time of the tribulation, the supposed seven year period. “they shall gather together’’,—This is to be interpreted according to the reference to be found in the word “‘elect’’, as just discussed. The “gathering together’ is toward the place where He is in the act of appear- ing on earth. (M, L.) Those who will hear nothing of a Millennium on earth refer these verses to the final end of the world, and say that while these angels gather the Christians to the right hand of the judgment seat, the evil angels will bring the wicked to the left hand. (Whe.) Owen, of course, refers this passage primarily to the Destruction of Jerusalem, and in a higher sense to the final end of the world. He says the “angels’’ refer to the guardian angels who in the Destruction of Jeru- salem protected and guided the Christians to a place of safety; and with Kuionel, he says the “four winds’’ and the ‘from one end of heaven to the other’’ means from all parts of Judea and from one horizon to the other in Judea. Lange says that as between Christ, the first-fruits and the first resur- rection there is a long period, so probably between the first resurrection of the Christians and the end there is another period, as intimated in John 5.28,29, In this second period Lange places the judgment on the clerical office (verse 45); then upon the collective Church (Chap. 25.1); then upon its individual members (Chap. 25.14), and finally upon all nations (Chap. 25.31). This, says Lange, points to the judgment of Christ upon earth during the 1000 years of Revelation 20, and the sending of the angels is to collect around Christ on earth His elect, although the greeting and reception is to be regarded as conducted in the air. Olshausen says the passage cannot refer to Palestine alone because of the expressions, “from the four winds’ and “‘from one end of heaven to the other’, both of which phrases metaphorically denote the widest extent of the earth. He says that since the Disciples only asked for the time and the signs of His coming, the passage before us must refer to something prior to that coming itself and prior to the resurrection of the Christians and the transformation of the living saints. Therefore, he says, it does not apply to the general union of all the saints in the kingdom of God after Christ’s coming, or at His coming; but it applies to the dispersed of Israel who are to be gathered together just before the resurrection of the just, in order that they may be separated from the mass of unbelievers and be united so they can all see the coming of the Son of man. Only thus, he says, do the exhortations to watchfulness and fidelity have any true significance; for 345 MATTHEW this implies the possibility of escaping the dreadful events at the Parousia and being taken to a place of safety. The angels, he says, are human messengers of the Lord, the sound of the trumpet being the power of the Holy Spirit. (Tho.) 32 Now from the fig tree learn her parable: when her branch is now become tender, and putteth forth its leaves, ye know that the summer is nigh; 33 even so ye also, when ye see all these things, know ye that *he is nigh, even at the doors. 34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all these things be accomplished. 25 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. 36 But of that day and hour knoweth no one, not even the angels of heaven, *neither the Son, but the Father only. 37 And as were the days of Noah, so shall be the ‘coming of the Son of man. 38 For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, 10r, it 2Many authorities, some ancient, omit xeither the Son. marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, 39 and they knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall be the *coming of the Son of man. 40 Then shall two men be in the field; one is taken, and one is left; 41 two women shall be grinding at the mill; one is taken, and one is left. 42 Watch therefore: for ye know not on what day your Lord cometh. 43 *But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what watch the thief was coming, he would have watched and would not have suffered his house to be “broken through. 44 Therefore be ye also ready; for in an hour that ye think not the Son of man cometh. 4Or, But this ye know 5Gr. digged through 3Gr. presence Vers. 32-44. THE SECOND COMING TO BE SUDDEN AND UNEXPECTED. Ver. 32. “‘putteth forth its leaves’’,—i. e., about Passover season, about the last of March. The fruit of the fig tree accompanies the mature leaf. : “the summer ts nigh’’,—1i. e., the harvest time of fruit in general. As surely as the leaves of the fig tree are the sign of summer so shall the signs of which He speaks portend most certainly the coming of the Son of man. Alford says that as the withered fig tree, which the Lord cursed, repre- sented the Jewish race in their unfruitfulness, so this fig tree represents the reviviscence of that race. Ver. 33. “all these things’’,—(1) the signs in verse 30 (L.); (2) the signs in verses 29 to 31 (M.); (3) all that Christ said in answer to the question of the Disciples (O. Ow.). The second reference is the more preferable. “he is nigh’’,—Meyer says the subject is ““the summer’ of verse 32, i. e., the summer time, the harvest reward in the Messianic kingdom. This extending of the subject “‘summer’’ from verse 32 is permissible, but it seems more direct to supply the subject “he” as in our text; or it is quite as proper to supply the subject “‘it’’ as in the margin of our text and in the Authorized Version, and make it refer to the Parousia, the end of the age, inasmuch as that is what the Disciples were inquiring about. In Luke it reads, “the kingdom of God’’, and if this idea be read into the narrative here, with Olshausen, Auberlen and others, then the word “Tt’’ as in the margin must be supplied. Olshausen says, ‘““The kingdom of God isa state of things commenc- ing at the second coming of Christ, i. e., the kingdom of the saints upon the renovated earth as in Revelation 20.” 346 MATTHEW Ver. 34. “‘This generation’’,—Here again opinions are widely divergent: 1. The people then living. (E. O. D. M. F. G. Ow. Al.) 2am hne Jewish race (1 Aso, Ca, Au. Dor Rig: Jan. Sto.. Heu: Heb. Sco. Gab. Pet. Mor. Wor. Tor. Bla. Mack. Nast.) 3. 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