XXVII. (1) LEVIATHAN THE PIERCING SERPENT. — Rather, _fleet,_ or _fugitive._ The verse paints in vivid symbolic language the judgment of Jehovah on the great world-powers that had shed the blood of His people. The “sword of the Lord” (primarily, perhaps, representing the lightning-flash) is turned i... [ Continue Reading ]
IN THAT DAY SING YE... — The prophet appears once again, as in Isaiah 26:1, as the hymn writer of the future day of the triumph of the redeemed. He had chanted a dirge over the vineyard that was unfruitful, and therefore given over to desolation. He now changes the wailing into a poem. The word tran... [ Continue Reading ]
I THE LORD DO KEEP it. — The words imply a distinct reversal of the sentence passed in Isaiah 5:1. Instead of abandonment, there is constant care. Instead of the clouds being commanded to give no rain, the vineyard is watered whenever it requires watering. Instead of being wasted by the wild boar or... [ Continue Reading ]
FURY IS NOT IN ME. — Better, _There is no wrath in me. Who will set briars and thorns before me? With war will I go forth against them; I will burn them up together._ The reversal of the sentence is continued. Wrath against this vineyard has passed away from Jehovah. Should briars and thorns (symbol... [ Continue Reading ]
OR LET HIM TAKE HOLD OF MY STRENGTH. — Or, _Let him lay hold on my fortress: let him make peace with Me._ The thought implied is that even the enemies of Jehovah, if repentant, may find in Him “their castle and deliverer.” To them, too, there is the gracious invitation to make peace.... [ Continue Reading ]
HE SHALL CAUSE THEM THAT COME OF JACOB... — Better, _In the days that come Jacob shall strike root._ The figure of Israel as the vine of Jehovah’s vineyard is carried to its close. The true Israel of God shall go through its normal stages of growth, and its restoration shall be as “the riches of the... [ Continue Reading ]
HATH HE SMITTEN HIM... — The pronouns are left in the English Version somewhat obscure, but the use of capitals makes the meaning plain: “Hath _He_ (Jehovah) smitten him (Israel) as _He_ smote those that smote him; or is he slain according to the slaughter of those that are slain by Him?” A slight a... [ Continue Reading ]
IN MEASURE... — Literally, with the force of iteration, _with measure and measure._ The verse continues the thought of the preceding. The word for “measure” is strictly definite: the _seah,_ or third part of an _ephah_ (comp. Isaiah 5:10), and therefore used as proverbial for its smallness, to expre... [ Continue Reading ]
BY THIS THEREFORE SHALL THE INIQUITY OF JACOB BE PURGED. — The pronoun may refer either to the chastisement of the previous verse as the instrument of purification (preferably), or to the destruction of idols which follows as the result and proof of that purification, the end contemplated by Jehovah... [ Continue Reading ]
THE DEFENCED CITY SHALL BE DESOLATE... — The key to this prediction is found in Isaiah 25:2, where the same words occur. The “defenced city” is that of the strangers, who are the enemies of God’s people, and its destruction is contrasted with the restoration of the purified Jerusalem of the precedin... [ Continue Reading ]
WHEN THE BOUGHS THEREOF ARE WITHERED... — The picture of the wasted city receives another touch. Shrubs cover its open spaces (perhaps the prophet thinks of the gardens and parks within the walls of a city like Babylon), and women come, without fear of trespassing, to gather them for firewood. FOR I... [ Continue Reading ]
THE LORD SHALL BEAT OFF... — The English Version conveys scarcely any meaning. The verb used is that which we find in Isaiah 28:27 for the “beating out” of seeds from their husks, as a form of threshing. In Deuteronomy 24:20 it is used of the beating down of the olive crop. So understood, the words... [ Continue Reading ]
THE GREAT TRUMPET SHALL BE BLOWN... — The symbolism had a probable origin in the silver trumpets which were used in the journeys of the Israelites “for the calling of the assembly and for the journeying of the camps” (Numbers 10:1), and which were solemnly blown in the year of Jubilee on the eve of... [ Continue Reading ]