Isaiah 46.
Commentary (4)
Adam Clarke
The difference between the preceding and the subsequent prophecies in point of composition is very remarkable; the last excelling much in majesty and elegance. This chapter (of which the first verse forms a general title to this and the five chapters following) contains two distinct prophecies relating to Egypt. The first was delivered previous to an engagement between Pharaoh-necho, king of Egypt, and Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon; in which the Egyptians were routed in Carchemish with great slaughter, as here predicted. The prophet sees the mighty preparations; but they are all declared to be of no avail, as God had decreed their fall, Jer 46:1-6. The King of Egypt, however, is represented as marching with all the confidence of victory, like a river overflowing its banks, and threatening all around with its inundation, Jer 46:7, Jer 46:8. But this immense armament of Pharaoh-necho, consisting of various nations, shall, by a righteous judgment of God, receive such a signal overthrow near the river Euphrates, that the political consequence of Egypt shall be thereby irretrievably ruined, and its remaining power become contemptible in the sight of the nations, Jer 46:9-12. The other prophecy, beginning at the thirteenth verse, relates to the memorable overthrow of the Egyptians by Nebuchadnezzar, subsequent to his siege of Tyre, in the sixteenth year after the destruction of Jerusalem, Jer 46:13-26. The promise, in the conclusion of the chapter, of preservation to the Jews, (who have for many ages continued a distinct people, when the various nations of antiquity who oppressed them, or with whom they had any intercourse, have long ago ceased to have any separate and visible existence), has been most remarkably fulfilled; and is a very signal act of providence, and a pledge of the restoration of Israel to the Divine favor, when the time of the Gentiles shall be fulfilled, Jer 46:27, Jer 46:28.
John Gill
INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 46
This chapter contains a prophecy of the taking of Babylon by Cyrus, and of the deliverance of the Jews; who are encouraged to expect the divine protection, and a continuance of it; are dehorted from idolatry, and directed to look to the Lord alone for righteousness and salvation. The taking of Babylon is signified by the demolition of its idols, which become the plunder of the enemy, and by the carrying of the inhabitants of it captive, Isa 46:1. Then follows a promise of grace and mercy to the remnant of Israel that should now be delivered; that the Lord, who had cared for them from the infancy of their state, would not leave them in their declining times, Isa 46:3, when they are dehorted from the worship of idols, from the consideration of the matter of which they were made, as silver and gold; from their being the works of men's hands; and from their inability to move themselves, or help others; and from the Lord being the true God, as appears by his omnipotence and omniscience, Isa 46:5. A description is given of Cyrus, who should be the instrument of the Jews' deliverance from Babylon, Isa 46:11. And the chapter is concluded with an address to the stout hearted and unrighteous Jews, to observe the righteousness and salvation which were brought near and set before them, Isa 46:12.
1. Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth,.... These are names of the idols of Babylon. Bel is by some thought to be the contraction of Baal, the god of the Phoenicians, called by them Beel; so "Beelsamin" (h), in the Phoenician language, is Lord of heaven: but rather this is the Belus of the Babylonians, who was a renowned king of them, and after his death deified; whom Nebuchadnezzar, according to Megasthenes (i), calls Belus his progenitor, and by whom Babylon was walled about. This idol is, no doubt, the same with Jupiter Belus, who had a temple in Babylon with gates of brass, and which was in being in the times of Herodotus (k), as he reports. This name is sometimes taken into the names of their kings, as Belshazzar or Beltesbazaar. Nebo was another of their idols, an oracular one, from whom, by its priests, prophesies of things future were pretended to be given out; for it may have its name from "to prophesy", and answers to the Apollo or Mercury of other nations. The Alexandrian copy of the Septuagint has very wrongly, instead of it, Dagon the god of the Philistines; and so the Arabic version "Dsagon". This name Nebo was also taken into the names of the kings of Babylon, as Nabonassar, Nabopalassar, Nebuchadnezzar, and others. As Bel is the same with Belus, so Nebo is the same with Beltis, the queen Megasthenes or Abydenus speaks of in the same place; and Bel may design the sun, and Nebo the moon, which may have its name from "to bud forth", or "make fruitful", as the moon does; see Deu 33:14. It is said of both these deities, that they "stooped" or "bowed down"; being taken down from the high places where they were set upright, and looked grand and majestic, and where they might be seen and worshipped by the people. Jarchi gives the words another sense, that it represents in a sarcastic way these idols, as through fear, in a like condition that men are in, in a fit of the colic, who not being able to get to the solid stool, are obliged to bend their knees, and ease themselves as they can (l). Aben Ezra seems to refer to the same signification of the word, when he says the sense was well known, but it was not fit to write it. The prophet goes on in the derision of these idols:
their idols were upon the beasts, and upon the cattle; that is, being taken down, and broke to pieces for the sake of the silver, and gold, and brass that were about them, or they were made of, they were put into sacks by the Persians, and laid upon camels, and mules, and horses, and transported into Media and Persia. Jarchi interprets it, their idols are like to beasts, which defile themselves with their dung as they do; and so the Targum renders it,
"their images are "in" the likeness of serpents and beasts.''
These were the forms of them:
your carriages were heavy loaden, they are a burden to the weary beast; this seems to be spoken to the Persians, who loaded their carriages, and their beasts, with this lumber, that their wagons were ready to break down, and their cattle groaned under the weight of it; a sarcastic jeer at the idols which were become the plunder and prey of the soldiers. It was usual at the taking of cities to demolish the idols of them; and this was typical of the demolition of Heathen idols, and the cessation of Heathen oracles in the Gentile world, through the spread of the Gospel in it, in the first times of Christianity.
(h) Sanchoniatho apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 1. c. 10. p. 34. (i) Apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 9. c. 4. l. p. 456. (k) Clio, sive l. 1. c. 181. Vid. Pausan. Messen. p. 261. (l) Vid. gloss. in T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 63. 2.
2. They stoop, they bow together,.... Either the beasts under their burdens, or other idols besides those mentioned; or rather the Babylonians themselves, who were obliged to submit to the conquerors:
they could not deliver the burdens; the idols could not save themselves from being laid as burdens upon the beasts, any more than they could save their worshippers: so the Targum understands this and the preceding clause of them;
"they are cut off, and cut to pieces together, they could not deliver those that carried them;''
or else the Babylonians are designed, who could not save their gods from being used in this shameful manner:
but themselves are gone into captivity, or "their souls" (m); what were as dear to them as their own souls, their idols; to whom also souls may be ascribed by way of derision, being inanimate as well as irrational; and it is not unusual for idols to be said to be carried captive; hence those words of Tertullian, "manent et simulachra caplira": or rather the Babylonians, who went into captivity themselves, and so could not save their idols: thus they who had led captive the Jews are led captive themselves; and thus it will be with mystical Babylon, Rev 13:10.
(m) "et animae eorum", V. L. Munster, Pagninus, Montanus, Cocceius.
3. Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob,.... The Jews, the descendants of Jacob:
and all the remnant of the house of Israel; those that remained of the ten tribes that had been carried captive long ago. These may, in a spiritual sense, design those who are Israelites indeed; the household of the God of Jacob; the chosen of God, and called; the remnant according to the election of grace:
which are borne by me from the belly, which are carried from the womb: here the Lord distinguishes himself from the idols of the Babylonians; they were laid as burdens upon beasts, and bore and carried by them; but the Lord is born and carried by none, but bears and carries his people. The allusion is to tender parents that have compassion on their children as soon as born, and take care of them, and bear them in their bosoms, and carry them in their arms; and may have respect, in the literal sense, to the infant state of the Jews, both as a church and commonwealth, when the Lord took pity on them, and care of them, and bore them as a father bears his son; and bore with their manners too, and carried them all the days of old through the wilderness to Canaan's land; see Num 11:12. It may be applied to the care of God in the preservation of men by his providence, especially his own people, whose God he is from their mother's belly; who takes them under his protection as soon as born, and carries them through every state of infancy, youth, manhood, and old age, and never leaves nor forsakes them; see Psa 22:10, and with great propriety may be applied to regenerate persons, who, as soon as born again, are regarded by the Lord in a very visible, tender, and compassionate manner; he "bears" them in his bosom, and on his heart; he bears them in his arms; he puts his everlasting arms underneath them; he bears with them, with all their weakness and infirmities, their peevishness and frowardness; he bears them up under all their afflictions, and sustains all their burdens; he bears them through and out of all their troubles and difficulties: he "carries" them, in like manner, in his bosom, and in his arms; he "carries" them into his house, the church, which is the nursery for them, where they are nursed and fed, and have the breasts of consolation drawn out to them; he carries on the good work of grace in them; he carries them through all their trials and exercises safe to heaven and eternal happiness; for they are poor, weak, helpless creatures, like newly born babes, cannot go alone, but must be bore up and carried.
4. And even to your old age I am he,.... The same he ever was, the eternal and unchangeable Jehovah; the same in his love and affections; in his sympathy and care; in his power and protection; in his promises, truth, and faithfulness to his people, in their last days, as at the first moment of their conversion; and therefore they are safe; see Psa 102:27,
and even to hoar hairs will I carry you (n); which is doing more than the most tender parent does, or can, or need to do! God will not leave his people in the decline of life, when pressing infirmities are upon them, and they stand in as much need as ever of being bore up, supported, and carried: wherefore it follows,
I have made; these persons, not merely as creatures, but as new creatures; they are formed for myself; they are my sons and daughters, the works of my hands: I have an interest in them,
therefore I will bear, even I will carry: from the first of their regeneration, to their entrance into glory; See Gill on Isa 46:3;
And will deliver you; out of all affliction; out of all temptations; out of the hand of every enemy; from a final and total falling away; from a body of sin and death; from death eternal, and wrath to come; and even at last from the grave and all corruption.
(n) This seems to express more than old age, as Ben Melech observes hence the Jews say, a man sixty years old is come to old age, and one of seventy to hoary hairs.
5. To whom will ye liken me?.... Was it lawful that any likeness might be made, which yet is forbidden, Exo 20:4 what likeness could be thought of? is there any creature in heaven or earth, among all the angels or sons of men, to whom God can be likened, who has done such works of power, and acts of grace, as to care and provide not only for the house of Israel, from the beginning of their state to the close of it, but for all his creatures from the beginning of life to the end thereof, yea, from the beginning of the world to the end of it, and has shown such special grace and goodness to his chosen people, in such a kind and tender manner?
And make me equal; or any equal to him in power and goodness, since all are but worms, dust, and ashes, as the small dust of the balance, yea, as nothing in comparison of him.
And compare me, that we may be like? which is impossible to be done; for what comparison or likeness can there be between the Creator and a creature, between an infinite, immense, and eternal Being, possessed of all perfections, and a finite, frail, imperfect one? see Isa 40:18. To pretend to frame a likeness of such a Being, is to act the absurd and stupid part the Heathens do, described in the following verses.
6. They lavish gold out of the bag,.... As if it was of no value and account; that is, the Heathen idolaters, some of them, who are excessively devoted to idolatry; these, being rich, take out their bags of gold, and give it in a very profuse manner to a workman to make a golden image for them, not caring what it cost them; such an one was that which Nebuchadnezzar made, sixty cubits high, and six broad, Dan 3:1 see an instance of profuseness this way in the Israelites themselves, Exo 32:2.
And weigh silver in the balance; or "with a reed" (o). Others, though idolaters, yet less devoted to idolatry, and more tenacious of their money, make silver do for a god, and weigh it out to the workman, that it be made of such a weight, and no more, and that they might not be cheated of their silver; or they weighed it to pay the workman for his workmanship. Money formerly was not coined and stamped, so not numbered by pieces, but weighed.
And hire a goldsmith, and he maketh it a god; a "finer" or "founder", with whom they agree for such a sum of money, and he, of the gold or silver that is put into his hands, makes a god: he casts and moulds it into such a form or shape that is agreed upon, and this is called a god; though nothing but a piece of gold or silver fashioned by art and man's device, and the work of his hands:
they fall down, yea, they worship; the god they made; both the artificer, and he that employed him, fall down upon their knees, or their faces, and pay divine worship add adoration to the idol; though the one knew it was made of his own gold or silver, and the other knew it to be the workmanship of his hands. Worshipping is more than falling down, as Ben Melech observes, and therefore it is said, yea, they worship.
(o) "in calamo", Pagninus, Montanus. The bar of the balance on which they hang the scales with threads, Ben Meleck says is called the "reed". So Vatablus.
7. They bear him upon the shoulder, they carry him,.... That is, the idol; men carry him upon their shoulders in procession, and expose him to the view and veneration of the people, just as the host is carried in procession by the Papists; or the idol being made, the workman or his men lift it up, for it cannot lift up itself, and take it upon their shoulders, and carry it home to the proprietor:
and set him in his place; in his house, if an household god: or in the temple, church, or place of public worship, if designed for that:
or cause him to rest under him (p), or "in his place"; under the roof of his house or temple; a jeer upon him, as if he was weary of his long journey, though carried. Here again the idols are distinguished from the true God, and he from them; they are on men's shoulders, and set in a certain place, but he carries all his people, and is not limited to, or included in any place:
and he standeth, and from his place he shall not remove; the idol being set in his place stands fast, being nailed; he stands upright as a palm tree, and can never stir from the place where he is, to help any of his worshippers, in whatsoever distress they may be; nor can he get out of the way of any danger to which he may be exposed; if the temple or house, in which he is, is on fire, or overflowed with water, or broke into by thieves, he cannot move out of his place, and escape the danger; a fine deity to be worshipped indeed! see Isa 44:13.
Yea, one shall cry unto him, yet can he not answer; as Baal's priests and worshippers cried to him, but no voice was heard, nor answer returned, Kg1 18:26 for though they have ears, they hear not, and mouths, yet they speak not, Psa 115:5.
nor save him out of his trouble; that is, the idol cannot save the idolatrous worshipper out of his distress, which has caused him to cry unto him; see Isa 45:20.
(p) "et quiescere eum faciunt suo loco", Musculus.
8. Remember this,.... Or "these things", as the Syriac version, concerning the matter of which, and the manner in which idols are made; their impotency to move themselves, and their inability to help their votaries, and the difference between them and the true God:
and show yourselves men; and not brutes, as the makers and worshippers of images are, or show themselves as if they were; who unmanly themselves, and act contrary to the natural reason of mankind: or "be ye strong" (q); so the Targum and Jarchi; fortify yourselves against all temptations to idolatry, and against all the arguments and persuasions of idolaters; or "burn ye" (r) or "be ye inflamed", so Rabenu Hal and Joseph Kimchi; that is, blush and be ashamed at such sottishness and stupidity, as men when they are ashamed look as if their faces were inflamed; so the Vulgate Latin version renders it, "be ye confounded" (s); or the sense is, be fervent in spirit, be fired (t) with zeal for God and his glory, and with indignation against such gross idolatry:
bring it again to mind, O ye transgressors; of the law of God, in this instance of idolatry; meaning either the Babylonians, or rather the Jews, who had been drawn in by them to idolatrous practices; calling upon them to return to their senses; to use and exercise their reason; to recollect and reconsider things, and observe and repent of the folly and wickedness they had been guilty of.
(q) "roborat vos", Pagninus, Tigurine version; so Ben Melech interprets the word. (r) Ardete, "comburite vos", some in Vatablus. (s) "Confundamini", V. L. "et erubescite", Calvin. (t) "Incendimini sive corripimini zelo", Vitringa.
9. Remember the former things of old,.... The things that were from the beginning, or the ancient things done by the Lord, whether as the effects of power, wisdom, and goodness, or in wrath, or in mercy; such as the creation of the heavens, and the earth, and all things in them; the destruction of the old world, and of Sodom and Gomorrah; the bringing of Israel out of Egypt through the Red sea and wilderness, to Canaan's land, and all the wondrous things then done for them; which are so many proofs of the true deity of the God of Israel, in opposition to the idols of the Gentiles:
for I am God, and there is none else; as he must needs be what did the above things:
I am God, and there is none like me; for greatness or goodness, or that has done the like things; not one of the gods of the Gentiles.
10. Declaring the end from the beginning,.... The end of the Jewish state, both as a church, and a commonwealth, from the first settlement of it in the times of Moses, and by him, Deu 32:29. The end of the world, and all things in it, as early as the times of Enoch, the seventh from Adam, Jde 1:14. The end and issue of every event, at least of many very remarkable and momentous ones, before they came to pass; and particularly things relating to Christ, the beginning and end; the fulfilling end of the moral law for righteousness; the scope and design of the ceremonial law, to which that tended, and in which it issued; as well as the end of the whole Scripture, of the prophecies and promises of it: and this end was declared very early, and spoken of by all the prophets that were from the beginning of the world; and which is a full proof of the omniscience of God, and so of his true deity, Luk 1:70.
And from the ancient times the things that are not yet done; that were not at this time done, though they are since: such as the captivity of the Jews, and their return from it; also the incarnation of Christ, his obedience and sufferings, and the glory that should follow; his resurrection, ascension, and session at the right hand of God; the work of redemption by him; the effusion of the Spirit; the spread of the Gospel among the Gentiles, and their conversion; and others which are now not yet done; as the conversion of the Jews in the latter day, and the bringing in the fulness of the Gentiles; the glory of the church in those times as to knowledge, peace, purity, power, and authority; the destruction of antichrist; and the second coming of the Messiah; all which have been declared from ancient times; and as the former have been accomplished, there is reason to believe the latter will:
saying, my counsel shall stand; the purposes and decrees of God, which are within himself, wisely formed by him, eternal and not frustrable; and which shall stand, or be accomplished, being the counsels of him who is all wise, all knowing, all powerful, unchangeable, true, and faithful; whether they respect the providence of God in relation to the world in general, and the government of it, or to particular persons, and their affairs, from the time of their birth to their death; or whether they respect his grace and goodness in the salvation of men; such as his purpose according to election, the covenant of his grace, redemption by Christ, the effectual calling, and eternal glorification; all which, as they are according to the will and counsel of God; stand firm and sure, and shall have their full accomplishment; see Psa 33:11.
And I will do all my pleasure; as he has done in creation, and does in providence, so he has done, can do, and does in grace, in predestination and redemption, and in the effectual calling. And particularly this may refer to the deliverance of the Jews by Cyrus, a type of Christ, and deliverance by him, as follows:
11. Calling a ravenous bird from the east,.... Or "a flying fowl", or "swift winged bird" (u); for the word used does not so much denote rapaciousness as swiftness; which well agrees with Cyrus, who is here meant, and not Abraham, as Jarchi, nor Nebuchadnezzar, as others; and who was always swift in all his expeditions, and always recommended celerity and dispatch of business to his soldiers and others, as Xenophon (w) often observes; and very remarkable is that speech of Tigranes to him, in which he tells him (x), that he so far exceeded the king of Armenia in swiftness, that he came upon him with a great army, from a far country, before he could get his army together, which was just by him. And very observable are the words of Cyrus himself, who was desirous of being a thorough horseman, that he might seem to be , "a winged" or "flying man" (y) So the Targum here renders it, a swift bird. Aben Ezra, who interprets it of Cyrus, says he is so called, as if he flew to do the will of God; and Kimchi observes of Cyrus, that he has this name because he came swiftly, and in haste, as a bird that flies: and it is no unusual thing for a mighty monarch, or a general, marching with his army, to be compared to a flying bird, particularly an eagle, Jer 48:40 and may be the bird intended here, which well suits with Cyrus, who had, as Plutarch (z) reports, an aquiline nose; hence men that have such noses, among the Persians, are highly esteemed: and Xenophon (a) says, that the standard of Cyrus was a golden eagle upon the top of a high spear, and which is retained by the kings of Persia. Cyrus is said to be called from the east, because, as Kimchi observes, his country lay to the east of Babylon:
the man that executeth my counsel from afar country; as Persia was from Babylon, Assyria and other provinces lying between; but though he lived in a far country, and knew nothing of the affairs of the people of God in Babylon, or what work he was to do, yet God called him, and brought him to do his will, which he was ignorant of: so God sometimes puts into the hearts of men to fulfil his will, which they are strangers to, Rev 17:17. It is in the Hebrew text, "the man of my counsel" (b); not with whom the Lord consulted, for none are of his counsel in this sense; but whom in his counsels, decrees, and purposes, he appointed to such service, and whom he made use of as an instrument to do his pleasure; see Isa 44:8.
yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass: I have purposed, I will also do it; the counsel of the Lord, concerning the deliverance of his people from Babylon, by the hand of Cyrus; this he had purposed in his own breast, had spoken of in prophecy, and would certainly perform. R. Joseph Kimchi interprets this verse of the Messiah, and so does Jerom, of whom, no doubt, Cyrus was a type; and what is here said agrees with him: he may be compared to a flying bird for his swiftness in coming at the appointed time; he came from the east, as the rising sun of righteousness; he was the man of God's counsel in the highest sense, and came, being called, to execute it; the work of redemption was according to the eternal purpose of God, and spoke of by all the holy prophets, and now accomplished; and his righteousness and salvation are made mention of in the following verses.
(u) "avem, a velocitate", Munster; so Vatablus; ab "in volando celeriter et cum impetu", Forerius; so Ben Melech says, Cyrus is surnamed a fowl, because of his great swiftness and haste to come to Babylon; though he observes that some say, that a ravenous fowl is called the singular may be put for the plural; so Cocceius renders it, "volucres", birds, and may design the whole army of Cyrus. (w) Cyropaedia, l. 1. c. 17. and l. 3. c. 6. and l. 6. c. 17. (x) Cyropaedia, l. 3. c. 2. (y) Ib. l. 4. c. 17. (z) In Apothegm. (a) Cyropaedia, l. 7. c. 1. (b) "virum mei consilii", Munster, Pagninus, Montanus; so according to the Keri: but the Cetib is , "the man of his counsel".
12. Hearken unto me, ye stout hearted,.... This is not an address to the Chaldeans, as Kimchi and others think, who were merciless and cruel to the Jews, and far from doing that which was right unto them, but oppressed them, and would not let them go; but to the Jews themselves, at least to the wicked and profligate among them, who were always a stouthearted, stiffnecked, and a rebellious people; and even those who made more presences to religion were only self-righteous, and were far from true righteousness. The whole may be applied to all persons destitute of the grace of God, professors or profane, who are stout or stubborn hearted; have hard and impenitent hearts; proud and haughty in their hearts; proud of their wisdom, power, and strength; stout in their hearts against God, as appears by their words and actions; oppose themselves to the people of God, his word and ordinances; and some so daring as to make a mock at sin, at religion, and a future state, and outbrave death itself; though when God calls them to an account, as he sometimes does by his judgments here, and will at the last judgment hereafter; or by the workings of his Spirit upon them, convincing them of sin, righteousness, and judgment; their hearts fail, and they cannot be strong and endure; when his word comes with power, and they hear it, and feel the energy of it, they are cut to the heart, and their stout and proud spirits are brought down, and made to submit: even such
that are far from righteousness; as all men are in a state of nature, none are righteous, no, not one, but are full of all unrighteousness; even those that are the most righteous and religious, externally, are without a righteousness; they do not attain to one by the law of works; they go about to establish their own, and do not submit to the righteousness of God, and so are far from it: and indeed all God's elect, in a state of unregeneracy, are far from any knowledge of the righteousness of Christ, they not being yet convinced of the need of it, and it having not yet been revealed and applied unto them, and received by faith; now these are called upon to hear the word externally, which coming with power, causes them to hear spiritually what follows:
13. I bring near my righteousness, it shall not be far off,.... Meaning either the faithfulness of God, in fulfilling his promises; or the justice of God displayed, in redemption by Christ; or Christ himself, God's righteous One, and the Lord our righteousness; or rather the righteousness of Christ itself, which Jehovah the Father may call his, because he sent his Son to work it out, approved of it, accepted it, and imputes it to his people, and justifies them by it; and which was near to be wrought out by Christ, and revealed in the Gospel; and which is brought near and applied by the Spirit of God to a sensible sinner, to a sinner convinced of the insufficiency of his own righteousness, and of the suitableness and excellency of Christ's, and of his need of it; and which is near in Christ, and in the Gospel, for faith to come at, at any time; nor is it ever far off from the believer, to whom it is imputed, and on whom it is put:
and my salvation shall not tarry; either Christ, who is God's salvation, provided and appointed by him, who was to come as a Saviour, and should not tarry; nor did he tarry beyond the appointed time, Hab 2:3 or the salvation itself wrought out by him; this work is done by Christ, and is published in the Gospel, and is brought nigh and applied by the Spirit of God in conversion, in due and proper time, and shortly will be fully enjoyed in heaven:
and I will place salvation in Zion for Israel my glory: the Saviour himself was to come to Zion; near to Zion was salvation wrought out; here the Gospel of salvation was first published, and out of it the word of it was sent into all the world; and in Zion, the church of God, Christ the Saviour is to be met with; and his salvation is the safety of it, it is placed about it instead of walls and bulwarks; and all this is for the Israel of God, the spiritual Israel, chosen, redeemed, and called, and who shall be saved with an everlasting salvation; and who are the glory of God, have the glory of God, the grace of God in them, and the righteousness of God upon them, by which they are glorious; who enjoy the presence of the glorious God, and who is glorified in them, and by them; whose glory, even the glory of all his perfections, wisdom, grace, mercy, justice, holiness, truth, and faithfulness, is great in their salvation. So Kimchi gives the sense of the words,
"the salvation I will give to them shall be glory to me,''
Or Israel may be called his glory, because he gives glory to them; not only grace here, but glory hereafter, when their salvation wilt be complete, that is, completely enjoyed.
Next: Isaiah Chapter 47
JFB
BABYLON'S IDOLS COULD NOT SAVE THEMSELVES, MUCH LESS HER. BUT GOD CAN AND WILL SAVE ISRAEL: CYRUS IS HIS INSTRUMENT. (Isa 46:1-13)
Bel--the same as the Phœnician Baal, that is, lord, the chief god of Babylon; to it was dedicated the celebrated tower of Babylon, in the center of one of the two parts into which the city was divided, the palace being in the center of the other. Identical with the sun, worshipped on turrets, housetops, and other high places, so as to be nearer the heavenly hosts (Saba) (Jer 19:13; Jer 32:29; Zep 1:5). GESENIUS identifies Bel with the planet Jupiter, which, with the planet Venus (under the name Astarte or Astaroth), was worshipped in the East as the god of fortune, the most propitious star to be born under (see on Isa 65:11). According to the Apocryphal book, Bel and the Dragon, Bel was cast down by Cyrus.
boweth . . . stoopeth--falleth prostrate (Isa 10:4; Sa1 5:3-4; Psa 20:8).
Nebo--the planet Mercury or Hermes, in astrology. The scribe of heaven, answering to the Egyptian Anubis. The extensive worship of it is shown by the many proper names compounded of it: Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuzar-adan, Nabonassar, &c.
were upon--that is, were a burden (supplied from the following clause) upon. It was customary to transport the gods of the vanquished to the land of the conquerors, who thought thereby the more effectually to keep down the subject people (Sa1 5:1, &c.; Jer 48:7; Jer 49:3; Dan 11:8).
carriages--in the Old English sense of the things carried, the images borne by you: the lading (Act 21:15), "carriages," not the vehicles, but the baggage. Or, the images which used to be carried by you formerly in your solemn processions [MAURER].
were heavy loaden--rather, are put as a load on the beasts of burden [MAURER]. HORSLEY translates, "They who should have been your carriers (as Jehovah is to His people, Isa 46:3-4) are become burdens" (see on Isa 46:4).
2. deliver--from the enemies' hands.
burden--their images laid on the beasts (Isa 46:1).
themselves--the gods, here also distinguished from their images.
3. in contrast to what precedes: Babylon's idols, so far from bearing its people safely are themselves borne off, a burden to the laden beast; but Jehovah bears His people in safety even from the womb to old age (Isa 63:9; Deu 32:11; Psa 71:6, Psa 71:18). God compares Himself to a nurse tenderly carrying a child; contrast Moses' language (Num 11:12).
4. old age--As "your"--"you"--"you," are not in the Hebrew, the sentiment is more general than English Version, though of course it includes the Jews from the infancy to the more advanced age of their history (Isa 47:6).
I am he--that is the same (Psa 102:27; Joh 8:24; Heb 13:8).
I will bear . . . carry--Not only do I not need to be borne and carried Myself, as the idols (Isa 46:1).
5. (Isa 40:18, Isa 40:25).
6. (Isa 40:19-20; Isa 41:7.) They lavish gold out of their purses and spare no expense for their idol. Their profuseness shames the niggardliness of professors who worship God with what cost them nothing. Sin is always a costly service.
7. cry . . . can . . . not . . . save-- (Isa 45:20, with which contrast Isa 45:19).
8. show yourselves men--Renounce the childishness of idolatry as shown in what precedes (Co1 14:20; Co1 16:13; Eph 4:14). In order to be manly we must be godly; for man was made "in the image of God," and only rises to his true dignity when joined to God; virtue is derived from the Latin vir, "a man."
bring . . . to mind--rather, "lay it to heart."
transgressors--addressed to the idolaters among the Jews.
9. former--namely, proofs of the sole Godship of Jehovah, from predictions fulfilled, and interpositions of God in behalf of Israel (Isa 45:5).
10. (Isa 45:21; Isa 41:22-23; Isa 44:26).
yet--not in the Hebrew. Translate, "What had not been done" [HORSLEY].
do all my pleasure-- (Isa 53:10; Rom 9:19).
11. ravenous bird--Cyrus so called on account of the rapidity of his marches from the distant regions of Persia to pounce on his prey (see on Isa 41:2; Isa 41:25; Jer 49:22; Eze 17:3). The standard of Cyrus, too, was a golden eagle on a spear (see the heathen historian, XENOPHON, 7, where almost the same word is used, aetos, as here, ayit).
executeth my counsel-- (Isa 44:28; Isa 45:13). Babylon represents, mystically, the apostate faction: the destruction of its idols symbolizes the future general extirpation of all idolatry and unbelief.
purposed . . . also do it-- (Isa 43:13).
12. stout-hearted--stubborn in resisting God (Psa 76:5; Act 7:51).
far from righteousness-- (Isa 59:9; Hab 2:4).
13. near--antithetical to "far" (Isa 46:12; Isa 51:5; Isa 56:1; Isa 61:10-11; Rom 10:6-8).
righteousness--answering to "salvation" in the parallel clause; therefore it means here, "my righteous deliverance"; righteous, because proving the truth of God's promises, and so contrived as to not compromise, but vindicate, His righteousness (Isa 42:21; Rom 3:26).
Zion . . . my glory--rather, "I will give salvation in Zion; to Israel (I will give) my glory" [HORSLEY]. (Isa 63:11; Psa 14:7; Luk 2:32).
Next: Isaiah Chapter 47
Matthew Henry
God, by the prophet here, designing shortly to deliver them out of their captivity, prepared them for that deliverance by possessing them with a detestation of idols and with a believing confidence in God, even their own God. I. Let them not be afraid of the idols of Babylon, as if they could in any way obstruct their deliverance, for they should be defaced (Isa 46:1, Isa 46:2); but let them trust in that God who had often delivered them to do it still, to do it now (Isa 46:3, Isa 46:4). II. Let them not think to make idols of their own, images of the God of Israel, by them to worship him, as the Babylonians worship their gods (Isa 46:5-7). Let them not be so sottish (Isa 46:8), but have an eye to God in his word, not in an image; let them depend upon that, and upon the promises and predictions of it, and God's power to accomplish them all (Isa 46:9-11). And let them know that the unbelief of man shall not make the word of God of no effect (Isa 46:12, Isa 46:13).
1–4. We are here told,
I. That the false gods will certainly fail their worshippers when they have most need of them, Isa 46:1, Isa 46:2. Bel and Nebo were two celebrated idols of Babylon. Some make Bel to be a contraction of Baal; others rather think not, but that it was Belus, one of their first kings, who after his death was deified. As Bel was a deified prince, so (some think) Nebo was a deified prophet, for so Nebo signifies; so that Bel and Nebo were their Jupiter and their Mercury or Apollo. Barnabas and Paul passed at Lystra for Jupiter and Mercury. The names of these idols were taken into the names of their princes, Bel into Belshazzar's, Nebo into Nebuchadnezzar's and Nebuzaradan's, etc. These gods they had long worshipped, and in their revels praised them for their successes (as appears, Dan 5:4); and they insulted over Israel as if Bel and Nebo were too hard for Jehovah and could detain them in captivity in defiance of their God. Now, that this might be no discouragement to the poor captives, God here tells them what shall become of these idols, which they threaten them with. When Cyrus takes Babylon, down go the idols. It was usual then with conquerors to destroy the gods of the places and people they conquered, and to put the gods of their own nation in the room of them, Isa 37:19. Cyrus will do so; and then Bel and Nebo, that were set up on high, and looked great, bold, and erect, shall stoop and bow down at the feet of the soldiers that plunder their temples. And because there is a great deal of gold and silver upon them, which was intended to adorn them, but serves to expose them, they carry them away with the rest of the spoil. The carriers' horses, or mules, are laden with them and their other idols, to be sent among other lumber (for so it seems they accounted them rather than treasure) into Persia. So far are they from being able to support their worshippers that they are themselves a heavy load in the wagons, and a burden to the weary beast. The idols cannot help one another (Isa 46:2): They stoop, they bow down together. They are all alike, tottering things, and their day has come to fall. Their worshippers cannot help them: They could not deliver the burden out of the enemy's hand, but themselves (both the idols and the idolaters) have gone into captivity. Let not therefore God's people be afraid of either. When God's ark was taken prisoner by the Philistines it proved a burden, not to the beasts, but to the conquerors, who were forced to return it; but, when Bel and Nebo have gone into captivity, their worshippers may even give their good word with them: they will never recover themselves.
II. That the true God will never fail his worshippers: "You hear what has become of Bel and Nebo, now hearken to me, O house of Jacob! Isa 46:3, Isa 46:4. Am I such a god as these? No; though you are brought low, and the house of Israel is but a remnant, your God has been, is, and ever will be, your powerful and faithful protector."
1. Let God's Israel do him the justice to own that he has hitherto been kind to them, careful of them, tender over them, and has all along done well for them. Let them own, (1.) That he bore them at first: I have made. Out of what womb came they, but that of his mercy, and grace, and promise? He formed them into a people and gave them their constitution. Every good man is what God makes him. (2.) That he bore them up all along: You have been borne by me from the belly, and carried from the womb. God began betimes to do them good, as soon as ever they were formed into a nation, nay, when as yet they were very few, and strangers. God took them under a special protection, and suffered no man to do them wrong, Psa 105:12-14. In the infancy of their state, when they were not only foolish and helpless, as children, but forward and peevish, God carried them in the arms of his power and love, bore them as upon eagles' wings, Exo 19:4; Deu 32:11. Moses had not patience to carry them as the nursing father does the sucking child (Num 11:12), but God bore them, and bore their manners, Act 13:18. And as God began early to do them good (when Israel was a child, then I loved him), so he had constantly continued to do them good: he had carried them from the womb to this day. And we may all witness for God that he has been thus gracious to us. We have been borne by him from the belly, from the womb, else we should have died from the womb and given up the ghost when we came out of the belly. We have been the constant care of his kind providence, carried in the arms of his power and in the bosom of his love and pity. The new man is so; all that in us which is born of God is borne up by him, else it would soon fail. Our spiritual life is sustained by his grace as necessarily and constantly as our natural life by his providence. The saints have acknowledged that God has carried them from the womb, and have encouraged themselves with the consideration of it in their greatest straits, Psa 22:9, Psa 22:10; Psa 71:5, Psa 71:6, Psa 71:17.
2. He will then do them the kindness to promise that he will never leave them. He that was their first will be their last; he that was the author will be the finisher of their well-being (Isa 46:4): "You have been borne by me from the belly, nursed when you were children; and even to your old age I am he, when, by reason of your decays and infirmities, you will need help as much as in your infancy." Israel were now growing old, so was their covenant by which they were incorporated, Heb 8:13. Gray hairs were here and there upon them, Hos 7:9. And they had hastened their old age, and the calamities of it, by their irregularities. But God will not cast them off now, will not fail them when their strength fails; he is still their God, will still carry them in the same everlasting arms that were laid under them in Moses's time, Deu 33:27. He has made them and owns his interest in them, and therefore he will bear them, will bear with their infirmities, and bear them up under their afflictions: "Even I will carry and will deliver them; I will now bear them upon eagles' wings out of Babylon, as in their infancy I bore them out of Egypt." This promise to aged Israel is applicable to every aged Israelite. God has graciously engaged to support and comfort his faithful servants, even in their old age: "Even to your old age, when you grow unfit for business, when you are compassed with infirmities, and perhaps your relations begin to grow weary of you, yet I am he - he that I am, he that I have been - the very same by whom you have been borne from the belly and carried from the womb. You change, but I am the same. I am he that I have promised to be, he that you have found me, and he that you would have me to be. I will carry you, I will bear, will bear you up and bear you out, and will carry you on in your way and carry you home at last."
5. The deliverance of Israel by the destruction of Babylon (the general subject of all these chapters) is here insisted upon, and again promised, for the conviction both of idolaters who set up as rivals with God, and of oppressors who were enemies to the people of God.
I. For the conviction of those who made and worshipped idols, especially those of Israel who did so, who would have images of their God, as the Babylonians had of theirs,
1. He challenges them either to frame an image that should be thought a resemblance of him or to set up any being that should stand in competition with him (Isa 46:5): To whom will you liken me? It is absurd to think of representing an infinite and eternal Spirit by the figure of any creature whatsoever. It is to change his truth into a lie and to turn his glory into shame. None ever saw any similitude of him, nor can see his face and live. To whom then can we liken God? Isa 40:18, Isa 40:25. It is likewise absurd to think of making any creature equal with the Creator, who is infinitely above the noblest creatures, yea, or to make any comparison between the creature and the Creator, since between infinite and finite there is no proportion.
2. He exposes the folly of those who made idols and then prayed to them, Isa 46:6, Isa 46:7. (1.) They were at great charge upon their idols and spared no cost to fit them for their purpose: They lavish gold out of the bag; no little will serve, and they do not care how much goes, though they pinch their families and weaken their estates by it. How does the profuseness of idolaters shame the niggardliness of many who call themselves God's servants but are for a religion that will cost them nothing! Some lavish gold out of the bag to make an idol of it in the house, while others hoard up gold in the bag to make an idol of it in the heart; for covetousness is idolatry, as dangerous, though not as scandalous, as the other. They weigh silver in the balance, either to be the matter of their idol (for even those that were most sottish had so much sense as to think that God should be served with the best they had, the best they could possibly afford; those that represented him by a calf made it a golden one) or to pay the workmen's wages. The service of sin often proves very expensive. (2.) They were in great care about their idols and took no little pains about them (Isa 46:7): They bear him upon their own shoulders, and do not hire porters to do it; they carry him, and set him in his place, more like a dead corpse than a living God. They set him on a pedestal, and he stands. They take a great deal of pains to fasten him, and from his place he shall not remove, that they may know where to find him, though at the same time they know he can neither move a hand nor stir a step to do them any kindness. (3.) After all, they paid great respect to their idols, though they were but the works of their own hands and the creatures of their own fancies. When the goldsmith has made it that which they please to call a god they fall down, yea, they worship it. If they magnified themselves too much in pretending to make a god, as if they would atone for that, they vilified themselves as much in prostrating themselves to a god that they knew the original of. And, if they were deceived by the custom of their country in making such gods as these, they did no less deceive themselves when they cried unto them, though they knew they could not answer them, could not understand what they said to them, nor so much as reply Yea, or No, much less could they save them out of their trouble. Now shall any that have some knowledge of, and interest in, the true and living God, thus make fools of themselves?
3. He puts it to themselves, and their own reason, let that judge in the case (Isa 46:8): "Remember this, that has been often told you, what senseless helpless things idols are, and show yourselves men - men and not brutes, men and not babes. Act with reason; act with resolution; act for your own interest. Do a wise thing; do a brave thing; and scorn to disparage your own judgment as you do when you worship idols." Note, Sinners would become saints if they would but show themselves men, if they would but support the dignity of their nature and use aright its powers and capacities. "Many things you have been reminded of; bring them again to mind, recall them into you memories, and revolve them there. O! you transgressors, consider your ways; remember whence you have fallen, and repent, and so recover yourselves."
4. He again produces incontestable proofs that he is God, that he and none besides is so (Isa 46:9): I am God, and there is none like me. This is that which we have need to be reminded of again and again; for proof of it he refers, (1.) To the sacred history: "Remember the former things of old, what the God of Israel did for his people in their beginnings, whether he did not that for them which no one else could, and which the false gods did not, nor could do, for their worshippers. Remember those things, and you will own that I am God and there is none else." This is a good reason why we should give glory to him as a nonsuch, and why we should not give that glory to any other which is due to him alone, Exo 15:11. (2.) To the sacred prophecy. He is God alone, for it is he only that declares the end from the beginning, Isa 46:10. From the beginning of time he declared the end of time, and end of all things. Enoch prophesied, Behold, the Lord comes. From the beginning of a nation he declares what the end of it will be. He told Israel what should befal them in the latter days, what their end should be, and wished they were so wise as to consider it, Deu 32:20, Deu 32:20. From the beginning of an event he declares what the end of it will be. Known unto God are all his works, and, when he pleases, he makes them known. Further than prophecy guides us it is impossible for us to find out the work that God makes from the beginning to the end, Ecc 3:11. He declares from ancient times the things that are not yet done. Many scripture prophecies which were delivered long ago are not yet accomplished; but the accomplishment of some in the mean time is an earnest of the accomplishment of the rest in due time. By this it appears that he is God, and none else; it is he, and none besides, that can say, and make his words good, "My counsel shall stand, and all the powers of hell and earth cannot control or disannul it nor all their policies correct or countermine it." As God's operations are all according to his counsels, so his counsels shall all be fulfilled in his operations, and none of his measures shall be broken, none of his designs shall miscarry. This yields abundant satisfaction to those who have bound up all their comforts in God's counsels, that his counsel shall undoubtedly stand; and, if we are brought to this, that whatever pleases God pleases us, nothing can contribute more to make us easy than to be assured of this, that God will do all his pleasure, Psa 135:6. The accomplishment of this particular prophecy, which relates to the elevation of Cyrus and his agency in the deliverance of God's people out of their captivity, is mentioned for the confirmation of this truth, that the Lord is God and there is none else; and this is a thing which shall shortly come to pass, Isa 46:11. God by his counsel calls a ravenous bird from the east, a bird of prey, Cyrus, who (they say) had a nose like the beak of a hawk or eagle, to which some think this alludes, or (as others say) to the eagle which was his standard, as it was afterwards that of the Romans, to which there is supposed to be a reference, Mat 24:28. Cyrus came from the east at God's call: for God is Lord of hosts and of those that have hosts at command. And, if God give him a call, he will give him success. He is the man that shall execute God's counsel, though he comes from a far country and knows nothing of the matter. Note, Even those that know not, and mind not, God's revealed will, are made use of to fulfil the counsels of his secret will, which shall all be punctually accomplished in their season by what hand he pleases. That which is here added, to ratify this particular prediction, may abundantly show to the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel: "I have spoken of it by my servants the prophets, and what I have spoken is just the same with what I have purposed." For, though God has many things in his purposes which are not in his prophecies, he has nothing in his prophecies but what are in his purposes. And he will do it, for he will never change his mind; he will bring it to pass, for it is not in the power of any creature to control him. Observe with what majesty he says it, as one having authority: I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass. Dictum, factum - no sooner said than done. I have purposed it, and he does not say, "I will take care it shall be done," but, "I will do it." Heaven and earth shall pass away sooner than one tittle of the word of God.
II. For the conviction of those that daringly opposed the counsels of God assurance is here given not only that they shall be accomplished, but that they shall be accomplished very shortly, Isa 46:12, Isa 46:13.
1. This is addressed to the stout-hearted, that is, either, (1.) The proud and obstinate Babylonians, that are far from righteousness, far from doing justice or showing mercy to those they have power over, that say they will never let the oppressed go free, but will still detain them in spite of their petitions or God's predictions, that are far from any thing of clemency or compassion to the miserable. Or, (2.) The unhumbled Jews, that have been long under the hammer, long in the furnace, but are not broken are not melted, that, like the unbelieving murmuring Israelites in the wilderness, think themselves far from God's righteousness (that is, from the performance of his promise, and his appearing to judge for them), and by their distrusts set themselves at a yet further distance from it, and keep good things from themselves, as their fathers, who could not enter into the land of promise because of unbelief. This is applicable to the Jewish nation when they rejected the gospel of Christ; though they followed after the law of righteousness, they attained not to righteousness, because they sought it not by faith, Rom 9:31, Rom 9:32. They perished far from righteousness; and it was because they were stout-hearted, Rom 10:3.
2. Now to them God says that, whatever they think, the one in presumption, the other in despair, (1.) Salvation shall be certainly wrought for God's people. If men will not do them justice, God will, and his righteousness shall effect that for them which men's righteousness would not reach to. He will place salvation in Zion, that is, he will make Jerusalem a place of safety and defence to all those who will plant themselves there; thence shall salvation go forth for Israel his glory. God glories in his Israel; and he will be glorified in the salvation he designs to work out for them; it shall redound greatly to his honour. This salvation shall be in Zion; for thence the gospel shall take rise (Isa 2:3), thither the Redeemer comes (Isa 59:20, Rom 11:26), and it is Zion's King that has salvation, Zac 9:9. (2.) It shall be very shortly wrought. This is especially insisted on with those who thought it at a distance: "I bring near my righteousness, nearer than you think of; perhaps it is nearest of all when your straits are greatest and your enemies most injurious; it shall not be far off when there is occasion for it, Psa 85:9. Behold, the Judge stands before the door. My salvation shall not tarry any longer than till it is ripe and you are ready for it; and therefore, though it tarry, wait for it; wait patiently, for he that shall come will come, and will not tarry."