Isa 2:1

Background of Isa 2-5: the reign of Uzziah, a period marked by great prosperity (2Ch 26). The ships of Isa 2:16 // the development of port of Elath in 2Ki 14:22. (And Isa 6:1 occurs in the year when Uzziah died.)

CONCERNING… JERUSALEM: “We do not know anything of Isaiah’s family or of the details of his upbringing. He was a member of some family of Jerusalem, and in intimate relations with the Court. It has been believed that he was of royal blood, but it matters little whether this be true or not. A spirit so wise and masterful as his did not need social rank to fit it for that intimacy with princes which has doubtless suggested the legend of his royal descent. What does matter is Isaiah’s citizenship in Jerusalem, for this colours all his prophecy. More than Athens to Demosthenes, Rome to Juvenal, Florence to Dante, is Jerusalem to Isaiah. She is his immediate and ultimate regard, the centre and return of all his thoughts, the hinge of the history of his time, the one thing worth preserving amidst its disasters, the summit of those brilliant hopes with which he fills the future. He has traced for us the main features of her position and some of the lines of her construction, many of the great figures of her streets, the fashions of her women, the arrival of embassies, the effect of rumours. He has painted her aspect in triumph, in siege, in famine, and in earthquake; war filling her valleys with chariots, and again nature rolling tides of fruitfulness up to her gates; her moods of worship and panic and profligacy — till we see them all as clearly as the shadow following the sunshine, and the breeze the breeze, across the cornfields of our own summers.

“If he takes wider observation of mankind, Jerusalem is his watch-tower. It is for her defence he battles through fifty years of statesmanship, and all his prophecy may be said to travail in anguish for her new birth. He was never away from her walls, but not even the psalms of the captives by the rivers of Babylon, with the desire of exile upon them, exhibit more beauty and pathos than the lamentations which Isaiah poured upon Jerusalem’s sufferings or the visions in which he described her future solemnity and peace.

“It is not with surprise, therefore, that we find the first prophecies of Isaiah directed upon his mother city” (GA Smith, “Isaiah”).

Isa 2:2

MOUNTAIN: That is, the “kingdom”: cp Dan 2:35,44; Zec 14:10.

MOUNTAIN OF THE LORD’S TEMPLE: The vast court of the Gentiles in Solomon’s Temple (Temple 25).

AMONG THE MOUNTAINS: That is, other earthly powers: Jer 51:24,25; Zec 4:7.

ALL NATIONS WILL STREAM TO IT: Jer 31:12.

Isa 2:3

COME, LET US GO UP: A winning appeal taken up also by later prophets: Jer 31:12; 50:5; Zec 8:21,22.

HE WILL TEACH US HIS WAYS, SO THAT WE MAY WALK IN HIS PATHS: See Zec 8:20-22; 14:16-19. The eagerness to learn expressed here is an almost incredible ct with Isaiah’s indignant accusations of Isa 1:10, etc.

JERUSALEM: The capital of God’s Kingdom: Jer 3:17; Mic 4:2; Isa 52:1,2; 62:1-7.

Isa 2:4

HE WILL JUDGE… SETTLE DISPUTES: Cp Isa 11:4. Christ will rebuke the nations afar off: Mic 4:3. He will first “break in pieces” (Dan 2:45; Psa 2:9; Rev 2:27), and then rule with a rod of iron (Psa 110:2; Rev 19:15).

THEY WILL BEAT THEIR SWORDS INTO PLOWSHARES AND THEIR SPEARS INTO PRUNING HOOKS: This would have happened quite literally with the weapons gathered from the devastated Assyrian camp outside Jerusalem, after the destruction of Sennacherib’s host.

NOR WILL THEY TRAIN FOR WAR ANYMORE: In short, wars will cease: Psa 46:9; Hos 2:18.

Isa 2:7

SILVER… GOLD… TREASURES: Tribute to Uzziah: 2Ch 26:8.

HORSES… CHARIOTS: Uzziah’s wholesale preparation for warfare: 2Ch 26:11-15. Judah’s royal bureaucracy had accumulated great wealth and military might, in violation of Deu 17:16,17.

Isa 2:8

THEIR LAND IS FULL OF IDOLS: As those of Syria and Babylon, imported by Ahaz (2Ki 16:10-12).

THE WORK OF THEIR HANDS: Ref to idols, but also to armaments (v 7), in which men trust also!

Isa 2:10

Poss ref to Uzziah’s being stricken with leprosy for the arrogance (vv 11,12) of attempting to act as a priest. According to Josephus, his smiting was accompanied by a great earthquake (cp v 19 here), and a great beam of light (the Shekinah glory?) revealing his smitten flesh.

HIDE IN THE GROUND: Death, hiding in the dust?

Isa 2:13

CEDARS OF LEBANON: The house of the forest of Lebanon (1Ki 7:2,3; 10:17; Zec 11:1,2), the mighty armory built by Solomon. Cp also Jer 22:6,7,23; Isa 10:34; Eze 17:3.

OAKS OF BASHAN: Perhaps a similar allusion (see Zec 11:1,2 again), but perhaps also sym of the “mighty men” of Judah (2Ki 24:15).

Isa 2:15

TOWERS… WALLS: The elaborate defenses of Jerusalem (2Ch 26:9,10; 27:3,4; Hos 8:14; Mic 5:11) — which crashed to ruins in the great earthquake of Uzziah’s day (Jos Ant 9,10,4).

Isa 2:16

TRADING SHIP: Heb “ship of Tarshish”. See Lesson, Tarshish.

SHIP… VESSEL: Solomon, Jehoshaphat, and Uzziah (1Ki 9:26; 22:48; 2Ki 14:22) had all attempted to boost the nation’s prosperity with a fleet of merchantmen sailing east from their port of Elath. Perhaps the great earthquake also loosed a tidal wave which destroyed the fleet at anchor (WIsa 107).

EVERY STATELY VESSEL: “All pleasant pictures” (AV); “images of desire”; “goddesses” (LXX). Context suggests elaborate carved or painted mastheads installed on the fleet — worshiping gods of sea?

Isa 2:18

// Zec 13:2; Rev 6:6; 13:15; 19:20. An obvious LD application as well.

Isa 2:19

WHEN HE RISES TO SHAKE THE EARTH: Earthquakes accompany awesome manifestations of God: Exo 19:18; Jdg 5:4; Psa 77:18; 114:4; Isa 2:10-22; Jer 4:24; Eze 38:20; Joe 3:16; Amo 9:1,5; Hag 2:6; Zec 14:4; Heb 12:26-28; Rev 6:12; 11:19; 16:18. Such an earthquake that, many years later, was still talked about (Zec 14:4,5).

See Lesson, Earthquakes.

Isa 2:20

RODENTS… BATS: Sym blindness, darkness, filth — the chief dominions of idols!

Isa 2:22

STOP TRUSTING IN MAN: Isaiah’s curt and caustic dismissal of the flesh as utterly powerless, in fact, as nothing but dust!

Isa 3:1

SUPPLY AND SUPPORT: Masc and fem of sw: all the nation, male and female together, come under condemnation here.

Isa 3:3

SKILLED CRAFTSMAN: The ingenious engineers of Uzziah (2Ch 26:15).

Isa 3:4

BOYS… CHILDREN: Instead of mature, capable leaders. (Israel, in Christ’s day, ruled by childish triflers, Edomites, and Roman puppets.) Woe to the land whose king is a child (Ecc 10:16).

Isa 3:5

THE YOUNG WILL RISE UP AGAINST THE OLD: Cp 2Ti 3:2: disobedient to parents, etc. Warned against in Lev 19:32.

Isa 3:6

Such a poor state that none will even attempt to remedy it.

YOU HAVE A CLOAK: A mark of relative wealth in a time of poverty?

Isa 3:7

I HAVE NO REMEDY: That is, for the diseased body of Israel (Isa 1:5,6).

Isa 3:8

DEFYING HIS GLORIOUS PRESENCE: Sins committed even in the very presence of God (the Temple?).

Isa 3:9

THEY DO NOT HIDE IT: They show a stubbornness of will — not even attempting to hide their sins from God!

Isa 3:10

TELL THE RIGHTEOUS IT WILL BE WELL WITH THEM: As always, a remnant who lament the sorry state of the nation, and hope and pray for better times.

“It is well with the righteous ALWAYS. If it had said, ‘Say ye to the righteous, that it is well with him in his prosperity,’ we must have been thankful for so great a boon, for prosperity is an hour of peril, and it is a gift from heaven to be secured from its snares: or if it had been written, ‘It is well with him when under persecution,’ we must have been thankful for so sustaining an assurance, for persecution is hard to bear; but when no time is mentioned, all time is included…

“From the beginning of the year to the end of the year, from the first gathering of evening shadows until the day-star shines, in all conditions and under all circumstances, it shall be well with the righteous. It is so well with him that we could not imagine it to be better, for he is well fed, he feeds upon the flesh and blood of Jesus; he is well clothed, he wears the imputed righteousness of Christ; he is well housed, he dwells in God; he is well married, his soul is knit in bonds of marriage union to Christ; he is well provided for, for the Lord is his Shepherd” (CHS).

RIGHTEOUS: Singular, as if to suggest such a class was not very numerous!

IT WILL BE WELL WITH THEM: Strong connection to Ecc 8:12,13. (Written in days of Uzziah, or Hezekiah?)

Isa 3:11

THEY WILL BE PAID BACK FOR WHAT THEIR HANDS HAVE DONE: // Pro 8:36; Rom 1:27.

Isa 3:12

A ruling class misleading the nation for their own benefit.

LEAD: Lit, “bless”, but not the expected “barak”; instead, the “sinister” “asher” — suggestive of the “asherah” (sig the way to happiness!): the sex-based idolatry which led to Israel’s undoing (WIsa 112).

Isa 3:13

Vv 13-15: Isaiah has many law-court figures and images: eg, Isa 41:1-5,21-29; 43:8-12.

Isa 3:14

MY VINEYARD: Anticipating Isa 5. The “vineyard” is the nation itself (Isa 5:1-7; 27:2; Psa 80:8-11).

THE PLUNDER FROM THE POOR IS IN YOUR HOUSES: Devouring widow’s fortunes (Mat 23:14).

Isa 3:15

CRUSHING MY PEOPLE AND GRINDING THE FACES: Stone-breaking and grinding at the mill: this the rich would do to the poor. But Jesus inverts the figure of speech (Luk 20:14,15)!

Isa 3:16

Vv 16-24: These words were spoken against the women of Israel, who made a vain and wanton display of the wealth (beauty, culture, fashion, display, ostentation) their husbands had wickedly acquired. (Luxury had greatly increased in the days of Uzziah: 2Ch 26:5,15.) Their dressiness was not necessarily wicked in itself, but it was wrong when unaccompanied by the inner adorning, of which the apostles wrote (1Ti 2:9; 1Pe 3:3).

For a time, these women in Israel continued on their way completely indifferent to the requirements of the law or the appeal of the prophets. They preferred to please themselves. They stood before their mirrors and admired the beauty that they saw reflected therefrom, but they did not see the hidden ugliness of the heart: the spirit of rebellion that made Yahweh sad and angry.

The day came, however, when they learned to regret the folly of their actions. It was the day of judgment, and they were held accountable for the manner in which they had defied the requirements of Yahweh, and had influenced others to do likewise.

OUTSTRETCHED NECKS: The long, slender neck is a sign of beauty. But, in great irony, it can be a neck “laid bare” as a sacrifice is prepared for the priest’s knife (cp Heb 4:12,13 and sig of “open”)!

Isa 3:17

SORES ON THE HEADS: The beginning of leprosy!

Isa 3:18

THEIR FINERY: “That superb Bible scholar Kay catalogues seven separate items mentioned here as having direct connection with the garments of the High Priest, the best-dressed man in Israel. Now women of the temple, who originally had been glad to forego their personal vanities (Exo 38:8), sought to outdo in appearance the most exalted man in the nation. Accordingly, Isaiah applies to these ‘haughty’ (v 16) women the very word which he has already used three times about the ‘loftiness of man’ (Isa 2:11,15,17)” (WIsa 114).

CRESCENT NECKLACES: “Moon ornaments”, mentioned only re Midianites (Jdg 8:21,26).

Isa 3:19

EARRINGS: Mentioned only re Midianites (Jdg 8:26).

VEILS: “Mufflers” in AV.

Isa 3:22

PURSES: “Crisping pins” (AV) cannot be correct; should be “purses”, or bags, attached to girdles in 2Ki 5:23.

Isa 3:23

MIRRORS: May be correct; LXX has “see-through garments”.

Isa 3:24

STENCH: No opportunity to bathe and cleanse oneself.

A ROPE: To bind up one’s clothes, OR to lead a slave captive!

FINE CLOTHING: AV has “stomacher”; prob dainty undergarments — to be replaced by hard, rough sackcloth!

BRANDING: The ugly brand of a slave on a once-beautiful complexion!

Isa 3:26

THE GATES OF ZION: The places of commerce, and social intercourse — now all gone! Or (WIsa 115), the women themselves, previously involved in duties in the temple, as “gates” or “gate-keepers.

DESTITUTE, SHE WILL SIT ON THE GROUND: As in “Judea Capta”, the coin commissioned by Roman Emperor Titus, to commemorate the conquest of Jerusalem in 70 AD. Cp idea, Isa 1:8: a hut in the vineyard: picture of desolation. Also cp Job 2:13; Lam 1:1; 2:10. And the words of Jesus in Luk 19:44.

ON THE GROUND: Quite poss, like the adulterous woman in Joh 8, cast on the ground at the feet of Jesus. Is Joh 8 a prophetic indicator that the “destitute” woman of Jerusalem/Zion/Israel will be forgiven and lifted up by the hand of Jesus? “Go and sin no more!”

Isa 4:1

IN THAT DAY: Cp Isa 3:18; 4:2 — thus Isa 4 is one with Isa 3.

SEVEN WOMEN: Some few — a remnant — of the women who served in the Temple (Isa 3), reprobated (by Hezekiah, at the time of his reforms: 2Ch 30), who repent and ask to be allowed to keep their positions (WIsa 116,117). (NT) A faithful remnant in Israel in LD, who turn to Christ and are spared!

TAKE HOLD: Heb “chazak”: a very obvious word play on the name Hezekiah.

WE WILL EAT OUR OWN FOOD AND PROVIDE OUR OWN CLOTHES: ‘Please let us stay, even if it means we have no share in the food and other perquisites normally provided for temple staff.’

ONLY LET US BE CALLED BY YOUR NAME: That is, ‘Only let us remain in your service.’

Isa 4:2

IN THAT DAY: Cp Isa 3:18; 4:1.

THE BRANCH OF THE LORD: “This v foretells (even before Isa 7:14) the birth of a scion of the house of David who will be ‘beautiful and glorious’, both in the eyes of his God and before the nation” (WIsa 117).

(NT) “But ‘the Branch’ (Heb ‘tzemach’) is also undoubtedly the Messiah (Jer 23:5; 33:15; Zec 3:8; 6:12). In a whole lot of places the corresponding verb also carries this idea (consider Isa 43:19; 45:8; 55:10; 58:8; 61:11; Psa 85:12; 132:17; Eze 29:21; Luk 1:78 [LXX]; Heb 7:14)… There is also a different word ‘netzer’, but with essentially the same idea, in the familiar prophecy (Isa 11:1) of ‘a Branch out of the stem of Jesse’ (the same root comes in the Heb text of Isa 26:3; 42:6; 49:8 — all Messianic passages” (WIsa 117).

GLORIOUS… PRIDE: Words used in Exo 28 to describe the “beauty and glory” of the High Priest garments.

THE FRUIT OF THE LAND: Anticipates the unequaled prosperity of the countryside in the year of Jubilee which God explicitly promised (2Ki 19:29,30), and then gave (Isa 61) — after the overthrow of Sennacherib’s army. (NT) The “riches” of the Gentiles: Isa 55:5; 61:6; 66:12.

THE SURVIVORS IN ISRAEL: A phrase foretelling the amazing deliverance of the multitude of captives who will have been driven off into slavery by Sennacherib (cp, eg, Isa 49:8-13; Joel 2:32).

Isa 4:3

…WILL BE CALLED HOLY TO THE LORD: A separate and dedicated nation (Jer 2:3), a nation of priests (1Pe 2:9). Cp Zec 14:20. In this instance, all who remained in Jerusalem to keep the Passover (cp Isa 26:20; 29:1; 30:29; 31:5; 33:20) at the time of Sennacherib’s invasion, and thus were spared.

ALL WHO ARE RECORDED AMONG THE LIVING IN JERUSALEM: The “Book of life”: cp Exo 32:32; Eze 13:9; Mal 3:16; Psa 139:16; 69:28; 87:5,6; Luk 10:20; Phi 4:3; Rev 13:8; 3:5; 17:8; 20:15; 21:27; Heb 12:23; Dan 12:1).

Isa 4:4

FILTH: Lit, the “excrement” (Isa 36:12); also “vomit” (Isa 28:8): Isaiah’s assessment of the elaborate finery of the women in Isa 3:16-23, or his impression of their “inner” defilement, despite their outward “beauty”. Cp, generally, the “righteousness as filthy [diff wd] rags” (Isa 64:6); Pro 30:12.

BLOODSTAINS: The murders (Isa 1:15,21), esp the fiery offerings of babies to Molech (2Ch 28:3).

A SPIRIT OF FIRE:

Isa 4:5

ALL OF MOUNT ZION: All the buildings on the Temple mount.

THOSE WHO ASSEMBLE THERE: A holy convocation, like the Passover, for example!

A CLOUD: Almost certainly the Shekinah Glory of the Lord.

SMOKE: Used in the same way, for the Glory of Yahweh: eg Isa 6:4; Psa 18:8; Gen 15:17; Joe 2:30.

GLOW: “Nogah” = brilliance; also always refs the Shekinah glory: Psa 18:12; Isa 50:10; 60:19; 62:1; Eze 1:4,13,27,28; 10:4; etc).

FLAMING FIRE: Frequently, the same idea: the Glory of God: Isa 10:17; 29:6; 30:30.

CANOPY: This may allude to Exo 40:34,35, where a cloud overshadows the meeting tent as it is filled with God’s glory. The Shekinah Glory to overshadow and protect the city and its people, when the fire of His wrath is poured out to consume Sennacherib’s army. (NT) Like a “bridal canopy” (see Psa 19:6; Joe 2:16), for Christ will have come to be united with his Bride.

Isa 5:1

I WILL SING FOR THE ONE I LOVE…: Resemblances to Song of Songs: vineyard, beloved.

VINEYARD: Israel as the vineyard of God: Psa 80; Isa 1:8; 3:14; Jer 2:21; Eze 15:1-8; and in NT Mat 21:33-44; Joh 15:1-6.

A FERTILE HILLSIDE: Lit, “the horn of a son of oil”. “Horn of oil” points to anointing of David in 1Sa 16:13. (“Horn” may sig the peak of a hill: BDB. “Oil” may ref olive trees. “David”, of course, sig “beloved”.)

Isa 5:2

HE DUG IT: Or “fenced it” (AV). “Truly God did fence Israel in — with high mountains in Lebanon, desert in the Negeb, the Great Sea to the west, and the deep Jordan valley to the east” (WIsa 121,122).

CLEARED IT OF STONES: The nations of Canaan.

A WATCHTOWER: Contrasts markedly with the flimsy booth which describes Jerusalem in its later helplessness (Isa 1:8). The prophets of Israel are described as “watchmen” (Jer 6:17: Isa 52:8; 62:6,7; Eze 3:17-21; 33:2-9).

WINEPRESS: The temple and altar, with their sacrifices producing the “wine” of poured-out blood.

IT YIELDED ONLY BAD FRUIT: “Bad” = lit, rotten or putrid. What a ct with “the Branch of the Lord, beautiful and glorious” (Isa 4:2).

Isa 5:3

Vv 3,4: Good soil, cleared field, good vines… what could have gone wrong?!

JUDGE: An unconscious judgment of one’s own actions: ie Nathan with David (2Sa 12), and prophet and Ahab (1Ki 20:35-43).

Isa 5:5

I WILL BREAK DOWN ITS WALL: Not just allowing it to deteriorate slowly and naturally, but rather a great and sudden destruction!

Isa 5:6

NEITHER PRUNED: No longer chastened, because illegitimate (Heb 12:8)!

BRIERS AND THORNS: Emblems of the curse: Gen 3:18; Isa 32:13. Nations = thorns in side (Num 33:56; Jos 23:12-14). Thorns = human nature (Heb 6:8n), choking the word of God.

I WILL COMMAND THE CLOUDS NOT TO RAIN ON IT: The owner of the vineyard has the power to withhold the rain (Lev 25:21: Isa 55:10,11).

IT WILL BE TRAMPLED: Jerusalem will be trodden down: Luk 21:24; Mat 23:36-39.

Isa 5:7

JUSTICE… BLOODSHED: Play on words: “mishpat… mispach”.

RIGHTEOUSNESS… CRIES OF DISTRESS: “Tsedaqah… tsa’aqah”. The “cry”: “Crucify him!” (Mat 27:21-23).

Isa 5:8

The LM forbade land-acquisition as a means to achieving wealth (Num 36:7; Mic 2:1,2; Amo 2:7; 4:1,9; 5:11); the land was to be redeemed, thus returning to its original owners (Lev 25:23).

YOU LIVE ALONE IN THE LAND: “Placed alone in the midst of the earth” (KJV): Their lands and possessions were the center of the “world” for them!

Isa 5:10

ONLY A BATH: Prob 1/500 of expected harvest!

ONLY AN EPHAH OF GRAIN: About 10% of what was sown!

Isa 5:11

Vv 11,12: Scathing denunciations of alcoholism made respectable: Isa 28:1-9; Joe 1:5; Amo 2:8; 4:1; 6:6; Hos 4:11; 7:5; Pro 31:4,5; 20:1; 23:29-32.

Isa 5:12

HARPS… LYRES…: Were the instruments of temple worship prostituted to drunken orgies? Cp Amo 6:5,6; 1Sa 10:5.

Isa 5:13

MY PEOPLE: And this is the ground of their condemnation… that they ARE God’s people! See Amo 3:2.

FOR LACK OF UNDERSTANDING: // Hos 4:6; Isa 1:3. Cp Luk 19:44: “because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you”.

THEIR MEN OF RANK WILL DIE OF HUNGER: A picture of previously rich self-indulgent revelers made haggard by privation.

THEIR MASSES WILL BE PARCHED WITH THIRST: Those who had had too much wine (vv 11,12) now have not enough water! Cp generally Luk 21:34. Also, a thirst for the word of God (Isa 55:1; Psa 63:1).

Isa 5:14

GRAVE (SHEOL): Cp Isa 14:9-11. There will be no limit to the number of dead! The grave, or earth, opening up its “mouth” suggests the fate of Korah and his fellow-rebels (Num 16:30-33).

Isa 5:15

// Isa 2:17-21.

Isa 5:16

THE LORD ALMIGHTY WILL BE EXALTED: God will be “sanctified” by those who approach him: cp Nadab and Abihu (Lev 10:3).

Isa 5:17

LAMBS WILL FEED…: (1) The poorer and more devout of Israel (the “lambs”), who had been dispossessed by wealthy and unscrupulous landlords, are one day to find themselves better off — thanks to a redistribution of property by Hezekiah in his year of Jubilee (Isa 29:19,20; 37:30,31; 61:1-4). Cp idea, Zep 3:11-13. Or… (2) As in the mg, “strangers” will eat…” [one letter change in Heb]: the invading Assyrians (Isa 1:7); or, even, Gentile believers who supplant the Jews (Mat 21:41,43; cp Rom 11:17, etc).

Isa 5:18

THOSE WHO DRAW SIN ALONG WITH CORDS OF DECEIT, AND WICKEDNESS AS WITH CART ROPES: “An idol called Iniquity, or alternatively Sin, is set up on a cart. Its devotees attach ropes, and dutifully draw it in procession like a Hindu juggernaut. Very probably there is allusion here to the idolatries introduced by king Ahaz, the outstanding one of which was an Assyrian deity (2Ki 16:10)” (WIsa 127).

Cp more modern religious processions at festival times.

Cp the same situation, describing the plight of Assyrian idols at the time of Sennacherib’s retreat from Jerusalem (Isa 46:1,2). So devotion to false gods is a “yoke of bondage” (Gal 5:1)! But those who are “yoked” to sin may call upon Christ to bear their burdens (Mat 11:29,30).

Isa 5:19

LET GOD HURRY, LET HIM HASTEN HIS WORK: The constant complaining question spoken against every prophet: ‘But WHEN is this going to happen?’ See Amo 5:18; 6:3; Jer 17:15; Eze 11:2,3; 12:22,23,27; Zep 1:12; Mal 2:17;3:1; Mat 24:48; Luk 17:20; 2Pe 3:3,4. In response to this complaint, Isaiah named his son “Maher [hurry] — shalal — hash [chuwsh] — baz” (Isa 8:3), and promised that God would “hasten” His work: Isa 46:12,13; 60:22; 35:4.

Isa 5:20

“Human judgment almost invariably makes the wrong choice, the wrong assessment, swinging to the wrong extreme, making the wrong decision… In every generation men dedicate themselves with avidity to the worship of Mammon, and call it their greatest good… Isaiah found himself in the midst of experienced influential men who through folly or willfulness were turning God’s laws upside down. Woe unto them! When a man is self-afflicted with this kind of twisted outlook on life there is no hope for him… One of the greatest curses of modern time is this double-speak. It has poisoned every aspect of human relations. A mighty military machine is called Defense. An aggressive political campaign is called a Peace Movement. Wholesale criticism and disparagement of the Word of God is paraded under the respectable name of Scholarship, whilst those who try to be honest with Holy Scripture are reckoned stupid or in darkness. A pseudo-science of psychology is called into being to give a flamboyant sanction to self-indulgence and all kinds of immorality. Thus sin is blithely abolished” (WIsa 129).

Isa 5:21

WISE IN THEIR OWN EYES: // Pro 3:7; 26:12. The cynical political maneuvering of men like Shebna, who thought they could outsmart their enemies — and had no need of the God of Israel: cp Isa 28:9…; 29:14,15; 30:1,2; 31:1,2.

Isa 5:22

Vv 22,23: ‘Woe to those who are “heroic” in their drinking exploits, but who are cowards at standing up for the rights of the poor!’

Isa 5:24

“The figure of an irresistible wall of flame roaring with a loud crackle through a field of stubble and a pile of winnowed chaff” (WIsa 130). The worthless “vine” of Isa 5:1-7 is fit for nothing but burning. Cp generally Hos 9:16; Amo 2:9; Luk 3:17; Mar 11:20.

Isa 5:25

THE MOUNTAINS SHAKE: The earthquake of Uzziah’s day?

THE DEAD BODIES ARE LIKE REFUSE IN THE STREETS: // Rev 11:8!

Isa 5:26

HE LIFTS UP A BANNER: An ensign — lifted up by Sennacherib — to rally a considerable confederacy of Gentile enemies of Israel (ie Psa 83).

Isa 5:27

“Although these vv provide the first vivid picture of Assyrian invasion… not a few of the phrases seem to be esp selected to suggest angels of the Lord in action, invisibly in control of the entire ambitious project from start to finish: None weary or stumbling; they neither slumber nor sleep (cp Psa 121:4); and sharp arrows (Deu 32;23), and chariot wheels like a whirlwind (cp Psa 83:13; Nah 1:3; Eze 10:13) all strongly suggest the cherubim chariots of God; the roaring like a lion (Joe 3:16; Hos 5:14; 11:10), and none able to deliver (Psa 50:22; Deu 32:39) alike imply irresistible divine power at work” (WIsa 132). Later the divine nature of this invasion is made very plain: Isa 8:7; 10:5,6,15.

Isa 5:30

ROARING OF THE SEA: In v 29, the roar of “lions”; here (v 30), the roar of the “sea”. So also these 2 figures of speech in Rev 10:3; 1:15 — describing the Heavenly Voice!

DARKNESS: Impl an eclipse or mighty storm (Isa 13:10; 24:23). Similar language in Joe 2:2,10; 3:15; Zec 14:6; Amo 5:18,20; 8:9; Zep 1:14-17.

DISTRESS: “Aphoria” in LXX: perplexity (cp sw Luk 21:25), where “sea and waves” roar also! Description of LD!

Isa 6:1

Isa 6: “The majestic prophecy of Isa provides a continuing panorama of wonder. Isa 6 begins a new section, and focuses attention on the glory of the King, the Lord Jesus. It opens with a significant historical background: the death of king Uzziah — the man who violated the sanctity of the temple, and died a leper. It is significant that this vision of the glory of the spiritual temple is set against the death of the monarch who violated the visible temple. It is also the time of an outstanding earthquake, only elsewhere mentioned in the Zec 14:5, as typical of the earthquake of the future. The chapter reveals the character of the future Monarch to sit on the throne of David. He would be associated with sin (v 6), representing a people found in transgression (v 5), but would be elevated by Yahweh to fulfil His ultimate purpose to reveal His righteousness and to save the Seed of His selection… The voice of Messiah is obviously found in the message, as he sets forth to deliver the message of Isaiah to the generation (v 8), and by him, the Isaiah type are cleansed. His great sacrifice was for himself (v 7) that it might be for all those in him (v 13). The glory of this ch becomes the introduction to the great prophecy of Emmanuel in the chs that follow [Isa 7-12]” (GEM).

Isaiah was confronted by God’s preeminence (Uzziah died and he saw God alone: v 1); by God’s purity (“Holy, holy, holy”: v 3); and by God’s power (the earthquake: v 4)!

IN THE YEAR THAT KING UZZIAH DIED: Uzziah repr the sin-cursed rulers of this world; in the year they “die”, then the Lord Jesus Christ will be exalted in his temple!

SEATED ON A THRONE: A “throne” in the Temple? The mercy-seat above the ark, in the Most Holy Place.

HIGH AND EXALTED: It was God, not Uzziah, who was to be exalted in His Temple — in ct to the unseemly self-exaltation attempted by Uzziah (2Ch 26:16,21). “Exalted”, or “lifted up”, ref to God revealing His righteousness in His Son Christ on the cross (Joh 12:34; cp John 12:40,41; cp also Isa 52:13).

THE TRAIN OF HIS ROBE: Ref to the High Priest garments (Exo 28:33,34). God manifesting Himself in Christ, who will be a priest upon his throne (Zec 6:13).

Isa 6:2

SERAPHS: Describes the flying serpents of the wilderness (Num 21:6,8; Isa 30:6; Deu 8:15). Related to the verb describing the refining, cleansing fire of God, esp in judgment or retribution. So perhaps here, = God’s instruments (the angels of “evil”, or “destroying angels”: Psa 78:49?) inflicting His righteous penalty for sin. Cp the 6-winged living creatures in Rev 4: God’s judgments held in readiness.

COVERING THEIR FACES: Sym God turning away His face so as not to behold evil (Hab 1:13), ie that of Uzziah. “There is some appropriateness in their faces being covered, for if it had not been for the Fall in Eden their grim work would not be necessary” (WIsa 135). Also, at this time, the original brazen serpent had become an object of idolatrous worship (2Ki 18:4).

WITH TWO THEY COVERED THEIR FEET: Temporarily resting from their labors? Ct Dan 10:6; Rev 1:15.

WITH TWO THEY WERE FLYING: Or “hovering”, like the Passover angels: angels of evil were preparing for judgments, and protecting angels were doing their work also!

Isa 6:3

THE WHOLE EARTH IS FULL OF HIS GLORY: “Earth” may = the whole Land, both north (invaded by Assyria) and south (under God’s watchful protection). Either way, the Glory of God is at work!

Isa 6:4

// Amo 9:1, same scene?

FILLED WITH SMOKE: In ct with the incense offered by Uzziah. Sig the wrath of God (cp Psa 18:7,8; Exo 19:18; Deu 29:20) — hiding God’s glory until His judgments are finished. “There is a close parallel to all this in Rev 15; 16, where there are cherubim and a hymn to the praise of God; the temple is filled with smoke, and the wrath of God is expressed in a violent earthquake (Rev 15:1,3,7,8; 16:18,19)” (WIsa 136).

Isa 6:5

“Whenever God has chosen men for some great duty and has prepared them for it by the vision of His holiness, their complete unfitness for divine use has been realized: ‘I am a man of unclean lips,’ said Isaiah, when he had heard the three-fold acclamation of God’s holiness. This was not because he was base or depraved; on the contrary he was a ‘holy man of God’ chosen to be the channel of the most outstanding revelations of the Messiah. And not only did he realize his own uncleanness of lip, but he felt also that his race, his people, were likewise unclean: ‘And I dwell in the midst of an unclean people.’ The sin-conscious man is aware of his oneness with his fellows as members of a sin-enthralled race” (CGal 71).

I AM RUINED: An overwhelming sense of his own unworthiness and incompetence and uncleanness, as with Moses (Exo 3:6,11), Jeremiah (Jer 1:6), and Job (Job 32:6).

I AM A MAN OF UNCLEAN LIPS: The same effect — a feeling of unworthiness — was produced on others by the presence of God (Jdg 6:22; 13:22; Job 42:5,6; Luk 5:8; Rev 1:17).

UNCLEAN LIPS: Sig leprosy (like that of Uzziah, Hezekiah), or moral leprosy (cp Isa 1:5,6). “The leper was commanded to go with rent clothes, and head bare, and lip covered, as he made his warning cry: ‘Unclean, unclean’ (Lev 13:45)” (WIsa 137).

AND I LIVE AMONG A PEOPLE OF UNCLEAN LIPS: The leprosy of sin-nature, from which all mankind suffers. Ct the promise of a “pure lip” in Zep 3:9.

Isa 6:6

A LIVE COAL: A burning coal from the altar of incense, related to the altar of burnt offering. It was only by the perfect offering for sin that Isaiah could be cleansed of his “leprosy”. (Was Jeremiah’s mouth likewise touched by a live coal: Jer 1:9?)

WHICH HE HAD TAKEN WITH TONGS FROM THE ALTAR: Even though it could only be a perfect man to effect such cleansing, the angels were necessary in this operation (Heb 1:14).

Isa 6:7

YOUR SIN ATONED FOR: “Atoned for” = Heb “kippor”. Did this happen on Day of Atonement?

Isa 6:8

HERE AM I. SEND ME!: “Isaiah’s reaction to this devastatingly awe-inspiring experience might well have been a shrinking away into silent reluctance. But instead, the declaration of sins forgiven impelled him to a willingness to go as the Lord’s messenger, although not knowing whither he went” (WIsa 138).

Contrast with examples of prophetic reluctance: Exo 4:10; Jer 1:6; Eze 3:14; Jon 1:3; 1Ki 19:10; Luk 5:8,10; 9:59; 18:23; Act 13:13; 18:9.

Isa 6:9

Vv 9,10: A divine judgment for the wickedness of Israel: cp Christ’s use of these words in Mat 13:12-15. Also see Deu 29:4; Joh 12:39,40. Israel were vessels of wrath fit for destruction (Rom 9:22; cp Rom 11:25,26).

Isa 6:11

HOW LONG…?: That is, ‘How long will Your judgments last when they come?’ (cp Jer 12:4; Dan 12:6; Zec 1:12; Psa 90;13; Rev 6:10).

Isa 6:13

CUT DOWN: Like abominable branches (Isa 14:19), and two “abominable” kings, Jehoiakin and Jeconiah (Jer 22:19,28).

SO THE HOLY SEED WILL BE THE STUMP IN THE LAND: “Nevertheless the ‘tree’ of Israel will survive through the ‘holy seed’ foretold in the next prophecy (Isa 7:14), the rod out of the stem of Jesse, the Branch out of his roots (Isa 11:1), the Branch of the Lord who will be beautiful and glorious (Isa 4:2), the dead Tree of Golgotha a veritable Tree of Life” (WIsa 141).

Isa 7:1

Background: “An inscription of Tiglath-pileser mentions both Menahem of Samaria and Rezin of Damascus as paying tribute to Assyria. So evidently at the time of the prophecy, whilst the Assyrian king was busy with fighting to the north and east of his capital, these two vassals rebelled and set about forcing Judah to join an anti-Nineveh confederacy… Verse 6 shows that they were determined to have a nominee of their own ruling in Jerusalem” (WIsa 142).

WHEN: Lit “it came to pass” (AV): Sig a time of trouble which ends in blessing: Gen 14:1; Rth 1:1; Jer 1:3; Est 1:1; 2Sa 21:1.

AHAZ: A wicked ruler (2Ki 16:3-5; 2Ch 28:23), who set up idolatrous worship and heathen altars, and desecrated the holy places of God. The “Book of Immanuel” (Isa 7-12) begins with an idolatrous king on throne in Jerusalem, and ends with the “Holy One” enthroned on Zion.

Isa 7:2

THE HOUSE OF DAVID: A term expressing the far-reaching import of the words of Isaiah: ie, not just for Ahaz, but for his whole family, and for generations to come.

ARAM: Syria sought to wrest Elath, on the gulf, from Judah (2KI 16:6).

EPHRAIM: At the same time, Israel invaded from the north, right up the walls of Jerusalem, and then retired (2Ch 28:5…).

THE HEARTS OF AHAZ AND HIS PEOPLE WERE SHAKEN…: A panicky halting between alternative policies: (1) join the confederacy and fight against Assyria, or (2) resist these Syrians and Israelites, because God is with us, or (3) buy Assyrian aid by sending more tribute to Nineveh: this last was the policy which had been followed to this point, and which had been denounced by Hosea (Hos 5:13; 8:8,10; 10:5-7).

Isa 7:3

YOUR SON: An implied rebuke the wicked king, who had burned his own son in the fires (2Ki 16:3).

SHEAR-JASHUB: Sig “a remnant will return”, whose name testified to the unhappy fact of a nation astray from God, with only a remnant remaining faithful (Isa 6:13; 10:21)… but also to the promise that a remnant WOULD return from the soon-coming captivity of the Assyrian (Isa 37:31).

UPPER POOL: Perhaps the “Virgin’s Fountain” (Joh 5:2n). Was Ahaz inspecting some piece of engineering to cover and protect the Gihon spring, in the event of attack (the sort of thing later completed by Hezekiah)?

WASHERMAN’S FIELD: The place where new cloth was repeatedly washed in the waters of the spring and then laid out for drying in the sun.

Isa 7:4

Vv 4-6: An assurance given entirely in the spirit of the commandment (Deu 20:3,4), that in time of battle the army be encouraged by a priestly exhortation to faithful dependence on God (cp Isa 30:15; 57:20).

TWO SMOLDERING STUBS OF FIREWOOD: A contemptuous phrase: two burned-out torches! What a ct to the devouring fire of Yahweh (Isa 5:24; 33:14).

BECAUSE OF THE FIERCE ANGER…: Alternate rendering: “For when my fierce anger is over, I will heal again” (LXX).

Isa 7:6

Isaiah also reveals to Ahaz all the secret counsels of his enemies — but tells him that their plans will not succeed.

Isa 7:7

IT WILL NOT TAKE PLACE, IT WILL NOT HAPPEN: But Judah will be safe from the depredations of Syria and Israel: God has guaranteed it!

Isa 7:8

SIXTY-FIVE YEARS: Too long a period to have any immediate impact. One suggestion, by a slight change: “six, even five years” — perhaps six years for Israel, and 5 years for Syria. (This shorter time span corresponds well with vv 14,16.) By then, the rising tide of Assyrian aggression will have swamped them both.

Isa 7:11

ASK THE LORD: A daring challenge from a prophet who is absolutely sure of himself!

A SIGN… DEPTHS… HEIGHTS: Blessings of heaven (ie Gen 49:25) in the birth of a special son (cp Pro 30:4). Blessings from sheol, in life from the dead, resurrection, etc (as ref Hezekiah in Isa 38:10). Blessings of the Messiah.

Isa 7:12

I WILL NOT ASK: Ahaz was already committed to buying the cynical aid of Tiglath-pileser (2Ki 16:7,8). Besides, he could not let the king of Assyria find out (as he would eventually) that he, Ahaz, was listening to Isaiah!

Isa 7:13

YOU HOUSE OF DAVID: Implying that the promises to David re his “house” (2Sa 7) should have been the trust of Ahaz! But they were not, and so the promise was not for Ahaz at all, but for the family of which he was (an unworthy) part! In its immediate fulfillment, “Immanuel/Hezekiah” would do Ahaz no good; it would, however, benefit the “house of David”. And in its final and complete fulfillment, “Immanuel/Jesus” would come long after Ahaz had died, and would be for the whole “house of David” in ages to come!

Isa 7:14

VIRGIN: “Virgin” in AV, NIV. “Young woman” in NEB. Other OT prophecies of “virgin birth”: Isa 41:9; 43:1; 44:2,24; 45:4; 46:3; 49:1; Psa 22:9,10; 71:6: 89:26,27; 110:1,3; 132:11; Gen 3:15; Mic 5:2; 2 Sam 7:14; Gen 49:25; Jer 31:22; Pro 30:4. Also, type of Isaac’s birth. Also, cp v 11: a “sign” in the height, depth, etc is idiomatic for a “sign” about the Messiah (Gen 49:25; Pro 30:4; Isa 45:8; Psa 85:11; etc). The first express prophecy in the OT is Gen 3:15, the seed of the woman (but not the man) who would destroy the power of sin symbolized by the serpent. And the first express fulfillment of prophecy in the NT is Mat 1:23. How was this prophecy of Isaiah to be fulfilled? Over the centuries this has become a Jewish controversy, and even a Christian controversy, as witnessed by some modern versions that translate the Heb “alma” or the Gr “parthenos” by “young woman” or the like, instead of “virgin”. Of one thing there can be no doubt: no matter what the best translation of the original words, both Matthew and Luke agree that Mary had had no relations with any man when Jesus was conceived. God has clearly shown how Isaiah’s prophecy was fulfilled despite whatever minor arguments may revolve around the precise words used.

The Heb “alma” and its related words are derived from a root sig to cover or conceal. One common suggestion is that it refers to the practice of keeping unmarried girls in seclusion in their parents’ homes. This explanation would favor virginity as the meaning of alma, but would not prove it absolutely. However, a more meaningful aspect comes into view when the antonym is considered; it means “to uncover”. “To uncover the nakedness” (so translated, lit, by the KJV) of another is a Heb euphemism for having sexual intercourse (Lev 20:11,17-21). So one who is “covered” — an alma — is then specifically one who has not engaged in sexual intercourse.

IMMANUEL: Not “God-with-us”, as in “HE is God!” But rather “God is with us”, as a promise of God’s protection. See such promises as Gen 28:15; Exo 33:16; Jos 1:9; Jdg 6:13; 1Ki 8:57; 2Ki 18:7; 2Ch 32:8; Deu 20:4.

See Lesson, “Little child” in Isa.

Isa 7:15

Vv 15,16: Even though v 14 is plainly a prophecy of the birth of Jesus, it just as plainly has a practically immediate fulfillment! The child to be born will be Hezekiah: see how Isa 9:6,7 and Isa 11:1… suit his person and reign also. (Cp similar prophecy of birth of special child in Mic 5:2…) It may be assumed that, alongside Ahaz, there was standing there Abijah, the daughter (or grand-daughter) of Zechariah the High Priest (2Ch 29:1; 24:20), the young virgin whom Ahaz would shortly marry; after their marriage, she would conceive and bear a special son (named “Immanuel”, then changed later to “Hezekiah”?).

HE WILL EAT CURDS AND HONEY: “He will feed on rich stores of covenant blessings” (WK). Cp Isa 55:2; 1Pe 2:2. As re Christ, the copying out of the LM as a child (Deu 17:18).

Isa 7:16

THE TWO KINGS YOU DREAD: Two possibilities: (1) Rezin and Pekah (v 4), or (2) the kings of Assyria and Egypt (vv 17,18). Re Christ: Herod the Great and Archelaus both die shortly after Christ is born.

Isa 7:18

FLIES FROM… EGYPT… BEES FROM… ASSYRIA: “Swarming flies are irritating; bees are irritating and esp dangerous because of the pain they inflict with their sting (Deu 1:44; Psa 118:12). The metaphors are well chosen, for the Assyrians (symbolized by the bees) were much more powerful and dangerous than the Egyptians (symbolized by the flies). Nevertheless both would put pressure on Judah, for Egypt wanted Judah as a buffer state against Assyrian aggression, while Assyria wanted it as a base for operations against Egypt. Following the ref to sour milk and honey (v 15), the metaphor is esp apt, for flies are attracted to dairy products and bees can be found in the vicinity of honey” (NET notes).

Isa 7:20

RAZOR… THE KING OF ASSYRIA: So thoroughly will these “bees” (v 18) gather their “honey” (plunder) that Judah will be like a man shaved bald!

Isa 7:22

ABUNDANCE: Due to misguided policy of Ahaz, the Assyrians would bring such destruction that yogurt and wild honey would be only food available. “Abundance” may be read sarcastically (Baly 84).

ALL WHO REMAIN IN THE LAND: Or poss a promise of prosperity, but with a sinister twist: “all who remain” (cp Isa 1:8; 4:3; 6:12) implies great loss of life, so that only a remnant remain where previously there had been a great population!

Isa 7:23

A THOUSAND VINES… ONLY BRIERS AND THORNS: The “vineyard” of the LORD (Isa 5) has been reduced to this!

Isa 8:1

LARGE SCROLL: A placard for public witness.

WRITE ON IT: Other allusions to writing: Isa 8:16; 29:11,18; 30:8; 34:16; Jer 32:14; 36:4; Hab 2:2,3.

MAHER-SHALAL-HASH-BAZ: “Speed-spoil-haste-prey”: a name of both comfort (v 4: retribution on Syria and Israel) and warning (vv 7,8: the same thing could happen to Judah).

Isa 8:2

URIAH: In 2Ki 16:10-16 he appears in an unfavorable light, as he complies without complaint with certain undesirable changes in the temple worship at the request of Ahaz.

ZECHARIAH SON OF JEBEREKIAH: Almost certainly Ahaz’s father-in-law and grandfather of Hezekiah (2Ch 29:1), and prob a wholesome influence on his grandson

Isa 8:3

Figure of mother and children in Isaiah: Isa 8:3,4; 11:8; 26:17,18; 28:9; 45:10,11; 46:3,4; 49:15,20-23; 54:1; 60:16; 66:11-13.

PROPHETESS: Others were Deborah (Jdg 4:4) and Huldah (2Ch 34:22). Where are her prophecies? Poss Isa 5 (“beloved” is masc); Isa 40 (Isa 40:9 is fem: “she who brings good news”); and numerous refs in Isa 40-66 to women and marriage and children.

Isa 8:4

THE WEALTH OF DAMASCUS: The first Assyrian devastation of Syria ended Rezin’s reign (2Ki 16:9).

THE PLUNDER OF SAMARIA: Not recorded in Scripture; however, must have occurred at about the same time. The complete overthrow of both kingdoms was finally accomplished by Shalmaneser V (2Ki 17:6; 18:9,10).

Isa 8:6

THIS PEOPLE HAS REJECTED…: Rejected what? Both the offer of a sign to Ahaz (Isa 7:11), and the solemn Maher-shalal… warning (Isa 8:4). Cp Isa 30:12. Literally rejected were the sweet waters of the conduit for the Gihon Spring and Virgin’s Fountain — begun in Ahaz’s reign but not completed? (Cp Joh 9:7: the blind man did not refuse these waters!)

Through the sacred page flow two very different streams. The raging torrent, the seasonal river overflowing its banks, is used by Isaiah as a figure for the advancing Assyrians (Isa 8:7,8). The waters thereof roar and are troubled; proud billows and lashing waves, lofty as hills, sweep aside mountains in their path (Psa 46:3). But in their tumultuous course the wild waters come at last against the immovable height of Zion (Psa 125:1): “Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed” (Job 38:11). For here, beneath Zion’s hill, flows another stream which is the secret of her survival. It is not harsh and overpowering; its waters go softly (Isa 8:6) through the rock-hewn channels of Hezekiah’s conduit (2Ki 20:20) into the pool of Siloam (John 9:7). It brings life to thirsty watchmen on Zion’s walls. In its silent, unerring course it symbolizes the sure and certain purposes of God. Its whispering waters speak in a still, small voice of the blessings of faith in God. This is the river of life, the streams whereof make glad the city of God, the holy places of the tabernacles of the Most High. God is in the midst of her; God shall help her; the Lord of Hosts is with us — here is the promise of Immanuel again (Psa 46:4,5,11). Let us drink of this stream; its quiet waters will restore our souls and bring us inward peace in the midst of stormy trials.

Isa 8:7

THE MIGHTY FLOODWATERS OF THE RIVER: The chaotic waters are perhaps intended to conjure up the picture — familiar in Canaanite and Babylonian mythology — of the god’s (ie, in this case, Yahweh’s) primordial victory over Leviathan the “god” of the sea: see Lesson, Leviathan — esp “OT History”.

Isa 8:8

REACHING UP TO THE NECK: But not over the “head” (Jerusalem)!

ITS OUTSTRETCHED WINGS: An allusion to the “cherubim” which were an essential part of Assyrian religion: winged ox-lions, with human faces (borrowed from Israel? or handed down from the days of Noah?).

WILL COVER THE BREADTH OF YOUR LAND, O IMMANUEL: A stark and vulgar contrast to the overshadowing protection of the cherubim-wings of Yahweh.

O IMMANUEL: Yet the mention of Immanuel makes clear that the Assyrian would have no right to be there. “The Land is mine” (Lev 25:23)! (So the prophecy about Immanuel must have had an immediate fulfillment, in Hezekiah!)

Isa 8:9

RAISE THE WAR CRY: Or “associate yourselves” (AV), like the enemies of God in Psa 2.

NATIONS: Usual word for Israel: so may ref the Northern Kingdom.

DISTANT LANDS: Thus ref Syria.

BE SHATTERED: Like a potter’s vessel: Psa 2:9; Rev 2:26,27.

Isa 8:12

CONSPIRACY: “Confederacy” (AV) or “treaty” (NIV mg). Some in Judah wanted to confederate with Syria and Israel against Assyria. Others wanted to confederate with Assyria. Still others were thinking of joining with Egypt (Isa 19:1; 30:2; cp 2Co 6:14-18). All such alliances with the Gentile nations were sin. Yet men like Isaiah were considered traitors for saying so (cp Jer 26:8-19).

Isa 8:14

SANCTUARY: Christ = tabernacle among men (Joh 1:14). God was in Christ (2Co 5:19-21; Rom 8:3).

A STONE THAT CAUSES MEN TO STUMBLE: The original “foundation stone” was the altar-rock of Zion — which was probably the site where Abraham prepared to offer Isaac (Gen 22: cp v 9 there with Psa 118:27), and which was probably also the threshing-floor of Araunah the Jebusite on mount Moriah (2Sa 24:18-25). The wicked Ahaz, infected with a zest for the worship of foreign gods, removed the altar of burnt-offering from its prominent place atop this foundation stone, and “hid” it away in a corner of the Temple enclosure (2Ki 16:14). Yet whilst the true altar might be set aside, there was no way to shift the massive outcropping of rock on which it had stood (it is still there today, in the center of the Dome of the Rock). Thus, in Ahaz’s day it remained — quite literally — a “stone of stumbling” (Isa 8:14,15) for priests walking across the temple court, and a “rock of offence” in a spiritual sense.

It was only when Hezekiah came into full control of the kingdom that he could remedy this sacrilege, and restore the Temple worship to its rightful setting. And so the “stone” rejected by the new “builders” of Judah became, once again, a precious stone and a sure foundation for the true worship of the Lord (Isa. 28:16).

It is easy, then, to see how this foundation stone symbolized Hezekiah himself (and his faith in the Lord), upon which all true worship in Judah depended. While sick unto death, he had been “set aside” by other would-be “builders” and rulers, but when miraculously healed he would stand forth again as the chief prince of his people. (See further on WBS 111-116.)

(NT) Christ is the “stone” which cannot be hidden or removed, and over which men “stumble” (cp Rom 9:32 with Isa 8:14 and Isa 26:8; also see 1Pe 2:6-8; Psa 118:22.

A ROCK THAT MAKES THEM FALL: The God of Israel = a Rock: Isa 10:26; 26:4; 30:29).

Isa 8:18

I AND THE CHILDREN… WE ARE SIGNS: This refers to Shear-jashub (7:3) and Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz (8:1,3). Or, “signs and portents.” The names of all three individuals has symbolic value. Isaiah’s name (which meant “the LORD delivers”) was a reminder that the LORD was the nation’s only source of protection; Shear-jashub’s name (Isa 7:3) was meant, at least originally, to encourage Ahaz, and Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz’s name (Isa 8:1,3,4) was a guarantee that God would defeat Israel and Syria.

Isa 8:19

// Exo 22:18; Lev 20:6,26; Deu 18:9-12.

Isa 8:20

“If they speak not according to this word, there will be for them no morning.” This translation, following the AV mg, emphasizes that, for such as the prophet here describes, there will indeed be no “dawn” (Isa 26:19; Psa 110:3), or no resurrection.

Isa 8:21

Vv 21,22: “The judgment brought by God’s instrument, the conquering Assyrian, would leave the people roughly handled and desperately hungry through the famine of war. And in their anger with themselves for deserving such a fate they would curse their weak useless king Ahaz and the pagan god he had sought to exalt. More than this, they would curse the brutal Assyrian king and the foreign god he sought to vindicate against Jehovah. the wretched people would look up to heaven in mute despair and look also to their ravaged Land (Isa 5:30) and find no answer to their clamant needs. Instead, only harrowing perplexity (sw Luk 21:25) and gloom (as in Joel 2:2) as multitudes of captives were driven away into captivity (cp Deu 30:1,4)” (WIsa 163,164).

Isa 9:1

THERE WILL BE NO MORE GLOOM FOR THOSE WHO WERE IN DISTRESS: A picture of Jerusalem (fem in Heb), apprehensive of invasion and yet coming through unscathed. (This first phrase of Isa 9:1 actually belongs at the end of Isa 8:22.)

Poss context: “Isaiah, in disfavor at the court of Ahaz, because of his strong opposition to fashionable idolatries (2Ki 16:11-17; Isa 8:9) and wrong-headed political alliances (Isa 8:12), was hunted out of Judah and took refuge in Galilee (Isa 8:16,17). Thither he spread abroad his prophetic message of a new era of godliness and prosperity, which the new king (Hezekiah) would bring in in due time” (WGos 111).

IN THE PAST HE HUMBLED THE LAND OF ZEBULUN AND THE LAND OF NAPHTALI: The overrunning of the Northern Kingdom in the first of the Assyrian inroads under Tiglath-pileser III.

ZEBULUN… NAPHTALI: “Rejoice, O Zebulun”: Deu 33:18-23; cp Psa 68:27,28; Act 2:7. This land also witnessed the deliverances of God in the days of Deborah and Barak (Jdg 4;5).

BUT IN THE FUTURE HE WILL HONOR GALILEE: The spiritual renewal and re-unfication of the 12 tribes in the days of Hezekiah (2Ch 30:11).

(NT): As cited in Mat 4:14-16, these regions of Galilee were honored to witness the great miracles and to hear the wonderful words of Jesus.

BY THE WAY OF THE SEA: The sea of Galilee, or Chinnereth (Num 34:11; Deu 3:17; Joh 6:1; Mar 6:53).

ALONG THE JORDAN: Or “beyond Jordan”, ie Perea, Gilead, Bashan.

Isa 9:2

THE PEOPLE WALKING IN DARKNESS… LIVING IN THE LAND OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH: Those who were dragged away into captivity by the Assyrians (// Psa 107:10). The Northern Kingdom, having been ravaged by Sennacherib, is being prepared to hear the glorious message of Isaiah and Hezekiah.

DARKNESS: The reason for affliction: darkness, or ignorance of God’s will.

HAVE SEEN A GREAT LIGHT… A LIGHT HAS DAWNED: The shining forth of the Shekinah Glory in the destruction of Sennacherib’s host, and the liberation of the captives.

(NT) Cited by Zechariah the priest and father of John the Baptist in his psalm of praise: Luk 1:78,79. More generally, Jesus as the Light from God in Joh 1:4,5,9; 8:12; 9:5 — as foretold in Isa 42:6; 49:9.

Isa 9:3

Vv 3-5: The destruction of Sennacherib’s army, bringing joy to the nation, and “multiplying” them through the return of the captives carried away earlier by the Assyrians (WGos 112); cp Isa 26:15; 49:19; 54:2,3.

AS PEOPLE REJOICE AT THE HARVEST: The deliverance from Sennacherib came at Passover (Isa 30:29; 31:5; 26:20,21), and the captives came home to a phenomenal harvest inaugurating a year of Jubilee freedom (2Ki 19:29,30; Isa 61:1,2; cp Psa 126; Isa 25:6).

DIVIDING THE PLUNDER: Isaiah has another picture of the plundering of the stricken Assyrian camp by the inhabitants of Jerusalem: Isa 33:4,23.

Isa 9:4

MIDIAN’S DEFEAT: The slaughter of Midian at the rock Oreb (Isa 10:26); fall of Oreb, Zeeb, and Zalmunnah: Jdg 6-8. Gideon’s battles typify the victories of Christ. Cp Psa 83:9.

YOKE: As in Isa 10:24-27; 14:25; cp Nah 1:13.

ROD: As in Isa 10:5.

Isa 9:5

EVERY WARRIOR’S BOOT: Only here in OT. “Apparently the Heb has borrowed an Assyrian word to describe the jackboots of Sennacherib’s soldiers. These are plainly shown in more than one Assyrian bas-relief. In this respect also these international bullies of ancient days were the prototypes of Hitler’s storm troopers” (WIsa 166).

DESTINED FOR BURNING… FUEL FOR THE FIRE: The divine fire which destroyed Sennacherib’s army: Isa 37:36; 30:30,31; 31:9; Psa 46:9; 76:3. “The nation of Israel will be multiplied, and its joy increased only when the yoke and staff and rod of all oppressors have been broken, only when the clever contrivances and brutalities of modern war have all been consigned by the Prince of Peace to burning and fuel of fire” (WIsa 167).

Isa 9:6

Vv 6,7: Primary fulfillment to Hezekiah: already born (note present tenses). Cp //s to Isa 22 — a Hezekiah prophecy: “government, father, shoulder, David, throne” (Isa 22:21-23).

THE GOVERNMENT WILL BE ON HIS SHOULDERS: The government of Israel is here symbolized by one of its emblems: the royal robe fastened at the shoulder. In Jdg 16:3,4: Samson possesses the gate of his enemy Dagon, carrying it on his shoulders to Hebron. [The gate, especially of one’s enemies, also symbolizes governmental power (Rth 4:1, and other refs].

When we come to the New Testament, reference to the royal shoulder suggests the shoulder of Jesus, that bore the cross (John 19:17).

WONDERFUL COUNSELOR, MIGHTY GOD, EVERLASTING FATHER, PRINCE OF PEACE: This is probably intended to be all one name, like Mahershalalhashbaz (Isa 8:1). Following the Soncino Bible, this could be read: “Pele-joez-gibbor-el-abi-ad-sar-shalom” = (perhaps) “The wonderful counselor, the mighty God, IS the everlasting Father OF the prince of peace”. (Some of these same “names” are combined elsewhere: in Isa 28:29; 25:1, for examples, about God Himself.)

However, if it be insisted that every phrase be applied, separately, to some human being, then — first of all — it may be applied to Hezekiah (he is the initial fulfillment of the “child” in Isa 7:14, and the “little child” in Isa 11), and then secondarily (though, of course, most importantly) to Jesus…

COUNSELOR: Used by Micah in Virgin Birth prophecy (Mic 4:9). “Counsel” refers to the personal fellowship between God and His Son: Psa 16:7; Mar 1:35; Joh 6:15; 5:19,20; 8:28; 12:49; 14:10. True counsel, wisdom, only from God: Jer 10:23; Job 12:13; Isa 40:12-14; 11:2-4. Christ brought God’s counsel (Deu 18:15-18), as “one having authority” (Mat 7:29). See also 1Co 1:30; Col 2:3; Zec 6:12.

MIGHTY GOD: “El Gibbor” = “mighty hero” (Moffatt). The Father has given His own Name to His Son as well (Phi 2:9; cp Psa 45:3,6; Heb 1:8). In general Scriptural terminology, one who acts on behalf of God may be called “God”: (a) angels: Gen 16:13; 18:13; Exo 23:20,21; Hos 12:3,5; (b) men: Exo 22:28; 22:6; 21:8 (elohim); Psa 138:1; Joh 10:34 (cit Psa 82:1,6); (c) the Messiah: Isa 8:13,14; 61:1,6; 64:4; 65:16; Zec 12:10; Mal 3:1; Joh 20:28; Heb 1:8.

EVERLASTING FATHER: In Hebrew idiom, “father” may signify “master, leader, teacher” (ie, Isa 22:21; Gen 45:8; 2Ki 5:13; Jdg 18:19; Gen 4:20,21). So, literally, this phrase may mean “father of the age to come” (LXX).

PRINCE OF PEACE: As was Melchizedek (Gen 14; Heb 7). “The peace” — or the “prince who brings peace” — “when the Assyrian comes into the Land” (Mic 5:5) — about Hezekiah first, before it is about Jesus. Cp the angels’ testimony at the announcement of Jesus’ birth: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth PEACE to men on whom his favor rests” (Luk 2:14).

See Lesson, “Little child” in Isa.

Isa 9:7

DAVID’S THRONE: Eze 37:25; Luk 1:32,33.

THE ZEAL OF THE LORD ALMIGHTY WILL ACCOMPLISH THIS: Same phrase used in Isa 37:32 re destruction of Sennacherib’s host.

Isa 9:8

Vv 8-21: “A prophecy spoken by Isaiah personally against the Northern Kingdom — supporting the theory that Isaiah fled north for refuge from the hostility of Ahaz. The Manasseh-Ephraim refs in v 21 support this idea, as does the picture (in vv 9-12) of Israel fighting against enemies to the north and south” (WIsa 169).

Isa 9:10

A spirit of arrogant self-confidence in Israel, entirely out of keeping with their current situation. Also, seemingly, a failure to rely on the God of Israel at all (v 13).

Isa 9:11

Rezin, king of Syria, paid tribute to Assyria for a time. Later, he joined Pekah of Israel (Isa 8:6) against Judah, and thus angered Yahweh (Isa 8:4). Rezin took Elath from Judah. Ahaz paid Tiglath-pileser to defeat Rezin (2Ki 16:6-9).

Isa 9:12

ARAMEANS FROM THE EAST: After Rezin’s death, the Syrians were forced to aid Assyria by fighting against their former ally, Israel. Cp Amo 1:3.

Isa 9:13

“These men of northern Israel neither gave due honour to Jehovah nor were they willing to consider that the piling up of ‘misfortune’ against them was His work” (WIsa 170).

Isa 9:14

HEAD AND TAIL: Cp v 15: the leading men of wide experience in politics and the false prophets teaching religious lies (Isa 29:10; Jer 14:14; Hab 2:18).

PALM BRANCH AND REED: The high and the lowly all together.

Isa 9:16

THOSE WHO GUIDE THIS PEOPLE MISLEAD THEM: Jeroboam (1Ki 12:26-30), Nadab (1Ki 15:26), Baasha (1Ki 15:34), Jehu (2Ki 10:29,31), and others besides.

Isa 9:17

EVERY MOUTH SPEAKS VILENESS: A word specifically used of sexual perversions: Gen 34:7; Deu 22:21; Jdg 19:23,24; 20:6,10; etc.

Isa 9:18

WICKEDNESS BURNS: Either (1) it was Israel’s wickedness which kindled the “fire” of judgment, or (2) metonymy: the “fire” is the punishment for their wickedness!

THE FORESTS: In these days the two main forests (which have long since disappeared) were in Ephraim (Jos 17:15) and Manasseh (2Sa 18:6,8 — east of Jordan).

BRIERS AND THORNS: Base and vile men (2Sa 23:6; Isa 33:12; Heb 6:8), who are destroyed to make way for better things.

Isa 9:20

EACH WILL FEED ON THE FLESH OF HIS OWN OFFSPRING: As, gruesomely, in Deu 28:53. Or, “they eat every man the flesh of his neighbour”.

Isa 9:21

“It was a period when all sense of moral decency and social responsibility had disintegrated. It was a chaotic era such as the twentieth century has already achieved in modern Israel, where there has come about an unhappy fragmentation in politics, economics, and religion, and an exacerbation of social spirit such as would dismay utterly the idealism of the early Zionists. Both then and now the best comfort is in Isaiah’s superbly eloquent promise of a Prince of Peace sitting on David’s throne (vv 6,7). But modern Israel wants none of it” (WIsa 172).

Isa 10:1

Vv 1,2: More comments about social injustice in Israel: cp Isa 3:14,15; 5:7,23. See also Deu 27:19; Isa 1:23; 29:21; Amo 5:12. Ct these wicked rulers with the Messiah: Isa 11:3,4.

Isa 10:2

PREY… ROBBING: “Shalal… bazaz”: allusions to the name Maher-shalal-hash-baz (Isa 8:1).

Isa 10:3

RECKONING… DISASTER: KJV has “visitation… desolation”, appropriated by Jesus in his warnings of coming judgment on his people because of their rejection of Immanuel (Luk 19:44; Mat 23:38).

WHERE WILL YOU LEAVE YOUR RICHES?: Or, perhaps, “What will your riches do for you?”

Isa 10:4

HIS HAND IS STILL UPRAISED: In which is the club of His wrath, the Assyrian (v 5).

Isa 10:5

Vv 5-11: “The remarkable similarity between this passage and 2Ki 19:2-37 [// Isa 37] (together with other indications) makes it likely that, through the renegade Rabshakeh, Sennacherib actually knew the tenor of this and other prophecies Isaiah had spoken in Jerusalem. Why else should the Assyrian use the self-confident argument: ‘Am I now come up without the LORD against this land to destroy it? The LORD saith to me, ‘Go up against this land, and destroy it’ (Isa 36:10)” (WIsa 174).

God’s use of Gentile kings as His “instruments”: Neh 9:37; Hab 1:y,12; Jer 22:7; 25:9; 5:15; 34:22; 51:20; Eze 29:18-20; Psa 17:13; Pro 21:1; Mat 22:7.

THE ROD OF MY ANGER: God’s tool to punish Israel: Isa 7:20; Joel 2:25; Jer 27:6; Zec 9:4; Eze 38:4.

Isa 10:6

I DISPATCH HIM: “I give him a charge” (AV). Although the Assyrian does not understand the impulse (cp v 7), yet God Himself rules in the Kingdom of men (Dan 4:17,25).

Isa 10:8

ARE NOT MY COMMANDERS ALL KINGS?: Like Alexander the Great and Napoleon later, Sennacherib’s policy was to install his generals as rulers in the conquered territories. Thus Hosea refers to him as the “king of princes” (Hos 8:10). Yet God would soon demonstrate that He alone was truly “King of Kings” (Dan 2:37)!

Isa 10:9

The city states listed here were conquered by the Assyrians between 740-717 BC. The point of the rhetorical questions is that no one can stand before Assyria’s might.

Isa 10:10

AS MY HAND SEIZED THE KINGDOMS OF THE IDOLS: Kingdoms that were weak, unsupported by their gods, and unable to resist Sennacherib. The same figure as in v 14, of a man plundering the nest of a helpless bird. (These other nations had idols at least as extravagant and splendid as those found in Jerusalem in the days of Ahaz.)

Isa 10:11

JERUSALEM AND HER IMAGES: Heavy sarcasm: ‘He has copied the altar of MY god, but it likely that MY god will help HIM against ME?’ “When the Assyrian campaigns came to their climax in the attempt to take Jerusalem, a very considerable element in the propaganda was centred around Sennacherib’s determination to vindicate his own deity against the Name and might of Jehovah (Isa 36:18,19; 37:10)” (WIsa 175).

Isa 10:12

THE WILLFUL PRIDE OF HIS HEART: Cruelty, lust for empire, and a vile blasphemy against Jehovah.

THE HAUGHTY LOOK IN HIS EYES: Poss, “the glory of the lifting up of his eyes”, ref the god to which the Assyrian king lifted up his eyes in worship.

Isa 10:13

I REMOVED THE BOUNDARIES OF NATIONS: Sennacherib’s policy of deporting the populations of conquered territories (2Ki 15:29; 17:6,24). Yet it was Yahweh who actually “set the bounds of the peoples” (Deu 32:8).

Isa 10:14

ABANDONED EGGS…: By ct, Jesus wished to spread his wings over the “chicks” of Jerusalem, to protect them from the Enemy (Mat 23:37-39; Luk 13:34).

Isa 10:15

// Rom 9:20,21.

Isa 10:16

Vv 16-19: Famine and fire: the destruction of Sennacherib’s host: 2Ki 19:35; Isa 37:36.

Isa 10:21

A REMNANT WILL RETURN: The return from Assyrian captivity of the 200,000 enslaved of Judah. And in NT, the ultimate regathering of Jews to their Land.

Isa 10:22

DESTRUCTION HAS BEEN DECREED, OVERWHELMING AND RIGHTEOUS: “The first question to settle here is whether the ‘consumption’ foretold is a judgment against Judah as God’s people or against the Assyrians for their cruel hostility to Abraham’s race… The context here, in vv 24,25, puts powerful emphasis on the outpouring of wrath on the Assyrian. So presumably the prophecy is so phrased as to be capable of being read both ways — against Judah for their indifference to the God of their fathers, and against the Assyrians for their national pride and contempt for the true God” (WIsa 179).

Isa 10:24

DO NOT BE AFRAID OF THE ASSYRIANS: // Isa 8:12,13; 37:6; 43:1,5; 44:2.

Isa 10:25

VERY SOON: // Isa 26:20.

Isa 10:26

AS WHEN HE STRUCK DOWN MIDIAN AT THE ROCK OF OREB: Already alluded to in Isa 9:4: Gideon’s victory: an oppression raised up by God; irresistible invasion (like locusts); cry of faith in God; a manifestation of divine glory — the angel of the LORD; trumpet and fire in the destruction of the enemy; the hostile leader escapes, only to be slain later (Oreb: Jdg 7:25; Sennacherib: Isa 37:38) (Jdg 6:1,5,7,8,22,25; 7:1,20,25; Psa 83:11-13).

HE WILL RAISE HIS STAFF OVER THE WATERS, AS HE DID IN EGYPT: The first of many instances in Isa where the saving of Jerusalem by the destruction of Sennacherib’s army is set alongside the saving of Israel at the Red Sea by the destruction of Pharaoh’s army.

Isa 10:27

THE YOKE WILL BE BROKEN: Cp the acted parable of Jeremiah (Jer 28:10).

BECAUSE YOU HAVE GROWN SO FAT: “Because of the anointing” (AV) or “oil” (RV mg): Perhaps an allusion to the royal anointing oil, ie to the faith of good king Hezekiah.

Isa 10:28

Vv 28-32: “An invasion of Judah from the north… Many others identify the invasion as Sennacherib’s in 701 BC, but historical records indicate Sennacherib approached Jerusalem from the southwest… The prophecy of the invasion was not necessarily intended to be a literal itinerary of the Assyrians’ movements; rather its primary purpose was to create a foreboding mood. Geographical references contribute to this purpose, but they merely reflect how one would expect an Assyrian invasion to proceed, not necessarily how the actual invasion would progress. Despite its rhetorical nature, the prophecy does point to the invasion of 701 BC, as the announcement of the invaders’ downfall in vv 33-34 makes clear; it was essentially fulfilled at that time” (NET notes).

“Almost all the names mentioned are associated, in 1Sa, with king Saul. Here ‘Gibeah of Saul’ (Isa 10:29) makes the link explicit. Thus an added purpose behind this dismal record comes to light — the king men would choose ‘to go out before us and fight our battles’ (1Sa 8:20) was no success in this respect, nor were those descended from him; but, by ct, ‘there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse’ (Isa 11:1) endowed with all the godly powers which would mean the saving of his people” (WIsa 181,182).

Isa 10:32

NOB: On Mt Scopus, from where Assyrian threat against Zion (Isa 2:2,3) would be obvious. For centuries that hill was called “the camp of the Assyrians”.

Isa 10:33

WILL LOP OFF THE BOUGHS: Cp figure in Isa 6:13. Leaving nothing but the roots (see Isa 11:1).

THE LOFTY TREES WILL BE FELLED: A preparation for the final siege of Jerusalem.

LOFTY TREES… TALL ONES: The self-confident leaders of the nation (Isa 2:11).

Isa 10:34

FOREST… LEBANON: The forest of Lebanon was the national armory (Isa 2:13; 33:9; 1Ki 10:17), a building with cedar pillars. Cp also Jer 22:6,7,23; Isa 2:13; Eze 17:3.

WITH AN AX: Cp John the Baptist: “the ax is laid at the root of the trees” (Mat 3:10), to warn his heedless generation of impending judgment — by the Messiah refd in the next v (Isa 11:1).

Isa 11:1

SHOOT… BRANCH: Echoes the figure of Isa 6:13, and contrasts the lopping off of the boughs in Isa 10:33.

JESSE: Implies that when Messiah comes the royal line will no longer be regal but will have sunk back to the ordinariness of common life — having been cut down (Isa 10:33,34) by successive Gentile conquerors. A root out of a dry ground (Isa 53:2; Rom 11:18; cp similar thought, Mic 5:2).

BRANCH: Heb “netzer” (as in Isa 60;21), root of Nazareth (Mat 2:23). Similar to Heb “tzemach”, used elsewhere: Isa 4:2; Jer 23:5; 33:15; Zec 3:8; 6:12.

Isa 11:2

THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD: A 7-fold Spirit, ie 1Co 12:29,30. In Christ will be gathered all the “fullness” of God — an allusion to the tabernacle, with its Holy Spirit resident there (Col 2:9).

WISDOM AND UNDERSTANDING: Surpassing that of Solomon — which was (merely) prudence and shrewdness in statecraft (2Ch 1:10-12).

Isa 11:3

HE WILL DELIGHT IN THE FEAR OF THE LORD: Lit, “his smelling is in the fear of the LORD.” In Amo 5:21 the sw carries the nuance of “smell with delight, get pleasure from.” There the LORD declares that he does not “smell with delight” (ie, get pleasure from) Israel’s religious assemblies, which prob stand by metonymy for the incense offered during these festivals. In Isa 11:3 there is no sacrificial context to suggest such a use, but it is poss that “the fear of the LORD” is likened to incense. This coming king will get the same kind of delight from obeying (fearing) the LORD [or, delight from those who obey the LORD], as a worshiper does in the incense offered in the Temple (NET notes). Cp ideas, Phi 4:18; ct Isa 65:5.

HE WILL NOT JUDGE BY WHAT HE SEES… OR… BY WHAT HE HEARS: See idea, Joh 2:24,25; 7:24; 8:15.

Isa 11:4

// Psa 72:3,4; Mar 12:43; Joh 12:3.

HE WILL STRIKE THE EARTH: Or, “the oppressor” (by small change in Heb).

HE WILL SLAY THE WICKED: Compassionate to poor and needy, he will be royally indignant against bad men: Rev 1:16; 2:16; 19:15; 2Th 2:8.

Isa 11:5

BELT… SASH: The 2 girdles, or sashes, point to a High Priest (Lev 8:7; Exo 28:4). Cp also Zec 6:12,13: the Branch will be a priest upon his throne!

Isa 11:6

Vv 6-9: “Another passage beautifully depicting the happy days which are yet to dawn on this afflicted and groaning earth, is that well known one in Isa 11. Sweet it is (whether the language be understood lit of a change in the brute creation, or fig of peace and concord among men) to think of the wolf dwelling with the lamb; the leopard lying down with the kid; the calf, the young lion, and the fatling together, and all so gentle, that a little child shall lead them. ‘They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Yahweh, as the waters cover the sea’ (v 9). Delightful prospect for this miserable world!” (FLD 271).

Vv 6-8: “Can there be any doubt that the great ‘beastly’ vision of Dan 7 is intended as commentary on what Isa has written here? The sequence of lion, bear, leopard and dragon (python) are all here, and so also is the Son of man who is to tame all these ancient enemies of his people. It is surely significant that the wolf is to dwell with the lamb (not the lamb with the wolf), and the leopard with the kid. Nor is the pairing of these animals inappropriate, for it has been observed that a wolf attacks sheep-folds, but a leopard will stalk a goat (kid) in inaccessible places where no wolf would venture, and a lion will carry off an ox which neither of the other predators could attempt to move” (WIsa 185).

But these visions are more than figurative; there is also prophesied here the primeval state of creation, when all creatures were given the herbs of the field for food (Gen 1:28) — here is Paradise restored!

A LITTLE CHILD WILL LEAD THEM: See Lesson, “Little child” in Isa.

Isa 11:8

Figure of mother and children in Isaiah: Isa 8:3,4; 11:8; 26:17,18; 28:9; 45:10,11; 46:3,4; 49:15,20-23; 54:1; 60:16; 66:11-13.

THE HOLE OF THE COBRA… THE VIPER’S NEST: Perfectly safe, because the cobra and the viper are GONE! They have been destroyed (Gen 3:15)!

Isa 11:9

HOLY MOUNTAIN: Jerusalem: Isa 2:2-4; 27:13; Jer 3:17; Zec 14:10.

THE EARTH WILL BE FULL: As in Dan 2:35-44.

FULL OF THE KNOWLEDGE: And full of the Glory (Num 14:21; Psa 72:19). And full of the knowledge of the glory…” (Hab 2:14).

Isa 11:10

ROOT OF JESSE: As well as the Branch of Jesse (Isa 11:1). Christ as both root and offspring of David (Rev 22:16).

BANNER: The little shoot or branch will grow to be a full-grown tree, being transformed into a pole, or stake, or ensign (Num 21:9, sw; Joh 12:32).

FOR THE PEOPLES… THE NATIONS: For the tribes of Israel (peoples = am) (and for Gentiles: nations = goyim) to flee to for aid. So cited in Rom 15:12: “the Gentiles will hope in him”.

THE NATIONS WILL RALLY TO HIM: Happened also in the days of Hezekiah (2Ch 32:23; cp Isa 60:5; 49:12). [This actually happened in Hezek’s time, when the king recovered from a deadly disease, and simultaneously the Assyrian invader was overthrown by divine power. This sent a shock wave through all surrounding countries, and many foreigners brought gifts to the LORD in Jerusalem (2Ch 32:23; cp Isa 60:5; 49:12).

HIS PLACE OF REST WILL BE GLORIOUS: God’s place of rest = Temple (Isa 66:1; Psa 132:8,14). Here a unique temple permanently filled with God’s own Glory, not a sanctuary left desolate or only occasionally honored with a divine visitation.

Isa 11:11

A SECOND TIME: Implies a first time, ie when Moses led Israel out of Egypt (cp Isa 49:9-11; 63:11,12; 43;1-5,16-19; Mic 7:15; Psa 68:22…).

RECLAIM: Or “recover” (KJV). The Heb sig “purchase” or “redeem” (sw Exo 15:6; Psa 74:2).

FROM LOWER EGYPT, FROM UPPER EGYPT: “The lean-on-Egypt policy advocated by Hezekiah’s princes at the time of his dire sickness must have been accompanied by a flight thither on the part of many terrified Jewish civilians. There is archaeological evidence of at least one Jewish colony in Egypt in this very period” (WIsa 187,188).

“This wretched situation anticipates an oppression and scattering of Jews in a day which lies yet in the future… When the Jews… come under the tyranny of their Arab enemies, many of them will become slaves in the territories round about (Deu 28:68), until in their penitence they are given a Messiah to lift them permanently out of their misery (Isa 27:12,13; Zep 3:10)” (WIsa 188).

Isa 11:12

A BANNER FOR THE NATIONS: Even Gentiles are now convinced that God is on the side of Israel. They too (though not all) will come to Jerusalem to humble themselves in worship before the God of Israel (Isa 14:2; 49:22; 66:20).

THE EXILES OF ISRAEL: The “outcasts” and “dispersed” of the chosen race: Isa 60:4; Amo 9:15.

Isa 11:13

Those in Ephraim (Northern Kingdom) who envy Judah (because of the Temple?) will depart (into captivity), and those in Judah who are the enemies of Ephraim (because of their schism?) will be destroyed (by the Assyrians)… leaving behind those amenable to “peace” with one another. Thus, a “window of opportunity” for Hezekiah’s reconciliation program.

(NT) But the true fulfillment of this awaits the Messiah, who will make Israel and Judah one (Eze 37:16,22; cp Jer 3:18).

Isa 11:14

After the overthrow of Sennacherib’s army, Hezek’s authority over Philistia was reasserted, as well as expeditions against Edom (Isa 34:6,7; 63:1-6; Oba 1:18-21) and Moab (Isa 25:10; Zep 2:7-9).

THEY WILL SWOOP DOWN: Like birds of prey.

PHILISTIA: See Lesson, Philistia in prophecy.

Isa 11:15

// Isa 27:12,13: also a regathering of Jewish exiles from Egypt and Assyria.

THE LORD WILL DRY UP THE GULF OF THE EGYPTIAN SEA: As did Moses (Exo 14:21), permitting the return of exiles from Egypt. Cp Mic 7:15; Isa 19:16.

HE WILL SWEEP HIS HAND OVER THE EUPHRATES RIVER: This is the true original of the prophecy of the drying up of the Euphrates River in Rev 16:12. See Lesson, Euphrates, drying up.

Isa 11:16

A HIGHWAY FOR THE REMNANT OF HIS PEOPLE: “Now, instead of Israelite captives and strangers building roads for their conquerors, a highway of deliverance is provided for them, as in the day of Moses (Exo 14:29). This is a constantly recurring theme in Isaiah, appropriate to the return of that multitude of captives carried away by Sennacherib (Isa 19:23; 35:8; 40:3; 49:11; 62:10; 63:12,13)… The repeated comparison with the Exodus is picked up in the Apocalypse where the Song of Moses and of the Lamb is associated with the last 7 plagues (Rev 15:3,8) which lead on to the drying-up of Euphrates (Rev 16:12). Perhaps the counterpart to the Song of Moses (Exo 15) is to be found in Isa 14:4-27” (WIsa 190).