Isaiah 65:4 Komentář

We are now drawing towards the conclusion of this evangelical prophecy, the last two chapters of which direct us to look as far forward as the new heavens and the new earth, the new world which the gospel dispensation should bring in, and the separation that should by it be made between the precious and the vile. "For judgment" (says Christ) "have I come into this world." And why should it seem absurd that the prophet here should speak of that to which all the prophets bore witness? Pe1 1:10, Pe1 1:11. The rejection of the Jews, and the calling in of the Gentiles, are often mentioned in the New Testament as that which was foreseen and foretold by the prophets, Act 10:43; Act 13:40; Rom 16:26. In this chapter we have, I. The anticipating of the Gentiles with the gospel call (Isa 65:10). II. The rejection of the Jews for their obstinacy and unbelief (Isa 65:2-7). III. The saving of a remnant of them by bringing them into the gospel church (Isa 65:8-10). IV. The judgments of God that should pursue the rejected Jews (Isa 65:11-16). V. The blessings reserved for the Christian church, which should be its joy and glory (Isa 65:17-25). But these things are here prophesied of under the type and figure of the difference God would make between some and others of the Jews after their return out of captivity, between those that feared God and those that did not, with reproofs of the sins then found among them and promises of the blessings then in reserve for them.

INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 65 This chapter contains an answer to the prayer begun Isa 63:15, and continued in the preceding chapter; in which reasons are given by the Lord for suffering such calamities as are before mentioned to come upon the Jewish nation; particularly their rejection of the Gospel as preached by Christ and his apostles, and cleaving to the traditions of the fathers, and to their own righteousness; which disobedience and rebellion are aggravated by the Gentiles quick reception of the Gospel, as soon as preached to them, Isa 65:1 as also the idolatry of their fathers, their impurity and breach of the divine laws, Isa 65:3, as well as their own pride, hypocrisy, and self-confidence, Isa 65:5 all which being observed by the Lord was highly provoking to him; and he was determined to recompense into their bosoms their own sins, and the sins of their fathers, whose measure they filled up, Isa 65:6, nevertheless he would have a regard to a remnant among them, in whom the true grace of God would be found, and who should have a name and a place in the Gospel church state, and be preserved from the general destruction, Isa 65:8, but as for the unbelieving Jews, they should be punished with the sword, with famine, with disgrace, with distress, vexation, and a curse; when the servants of the Lord should have food, and joy, and honour, and bless themselves in the Lord, and serve him, Isa 65:11 and the chapter is concluded with promises of a new and happy state to the Jews upon their conversion in the latter day; which will be attended with much spiritual joy, with abundance of outward felicity, with great safety and security, and with the presence of God, Isa 65:17.

Which remain among the graves,.... In order to practise necromancy, to consult the dead, where they imagined demons and departed spirits haunted, and of whom they fancied they might get knowledge of future things: and lodge in the monuments: whole nights for the same purposes. The Vulgate Latin version is, "that sleep in the temples of idols"; after the manner of the Heathens, who used to sleep there in order to obtain dreams, whereby they might be able to foretell things to come, as they did in the temple of Aesculapius; or, "in desolate places" (k), as Kimchi and Ben Melech interpret it; where they expected to meet with demons and noxious spirits, to give them knowledge of things to come. The Targum paraphrases both clauses thus, "who dwell in houses built of the dust of graves, and lodge with the corpse of the children of men;'' so corpse, according to Jarchi, are expressed by this word, which signifies "kept", or "preserved" (l), as in Isa 49:6, because they are put in a strait place, from whence they cannot get out; though some think idols are meant, called so by way of derision, because kept for fear of being stolen, or because they cannot keep themselves, nor their votaries: which eat swine's flesh; forbidden by the law, Lev 11:7, and broth of abominable things is in their vessels; or "pots": broth made of swine's flesh, and of other sorts of flesh which were unclean by the law. Our version follows the marginal (m) reading; as do the Targum, Aben Ezra, Jarchi, and Kimchi; but the written text is, "a fragment" (n), or piece, or pieces, of abominable things; both may be retained in the sense of the passage; slices of flesh unclean, and so abominable by the law, were put into their pots and stewed, and made broth of, which they drank. Spencer (o) thinks the milk in which kids were boiled is meant, which the Zabians kept in vessels, and sprinkled on the trees in their gardens, to make them more fruitful; hence mention is made of idolatrous practices in gardens, in the preceding verse. (k) "In desertis locis", Munster, Pagninus. (l) "apud custodita", Junius & Tremellius; "custoditos", Piscator. (m) "jusculum". (n) "fragmentum". (o) De Legibus Hebr. I. 2. c. 8. sect. 2. p. 275.

(Verses 4, 5.) Those who dwell in tombs and sleep in the temples of idols, who eat pork meat and unclean broth from their vessels, who say, 'Go away from me, do not come near me, for you are unclean.' LXX: They sleep in tombs and caves because of the nightmares, those who eat pork meat and the broth of sacrifices, all their vessels are profane. They say, 'Go far away from me, do not come near me, for I am clean.' There was nothing of sacrilege that the people of Israel would omit, not only sacrificing in gardens and burning incense on bricks, but also sitting or dwelling in tombs, and sleeping in the temples of idols, where they used to lie down on the skins of sacrificial animals to learn the future in dreams. This error is celebrated today in the temple of Aesculapius and in many other ethnic cults, which are nothing more than the tombs of the dead. They were not satisfied with this limit of impiety, but they also feasted on the flesh of pigs, which was prohibited by law, and they devoured yesterday's food, which the Greeks call 'ἕωλον', with greedy mouths (Leviticus 12). As a result, they and their vessels were unclean, and their audacity and arrogance grew daily to such an extent that anyone who did not share their error was considered unclean, and they would avoid coming into contact with them, just as the Samaritans and Jews do to us, and all heretics, like those that recently sprouted under the brainy master in Gaul, who veer away from the basilicas of the martyrs and flee from us, who perform prayers there in the customary manner, as if we were unclean. However, it is not they themselves who do this so much as the demons dwelling within them, not enduring the strength and punishments of the holy ashes. But who among the heretics does not rest in memories, does not sleep in the dens of the masters? What kind of people were Marcion and Valentinus, and more recently Eunomius, who, contesting the impurity of their mind with leprous flesh, abandon the light of the Holy Spirit and dwell in the darkness of the devil, and love the caves which Jeremiah condemns in mystical language: 'My inheritance has become to me like a cave of hyenas' (Jeremiah 12:8), which our people call a wild beast, as this animal always pursues carcasses and lives on the juice and pus of dead bodies. Against these, who dwell in caves, and Abacuc spoke with a lamentable voice, saying: Woe to him who gives his neighbor a drink of turbid potion and intoxicates him, so that he looks towards his caves. (Abac. II, 15). Concerning these caves, the Lord spoke: It is written, My Father's house shall be called a house of prayer; but you have made it a den of robbers. (Matth. XXI, 13), in which you slay the souls of the deceived, so that you do not see visions in them, of which the same Savior said: I have multiplied visions, and I have assimilated myself to the hands of the Prophets. (Ose. XII, 10). And another said to him: You have spoken, he said, in a vision to your children (Psalm 88:20), but you believe in dreams and illusions, which the Lord has commanded not to be believed. They feed on the flesh of pigs, of which it is said: Do not cast your pearls before swine (Matthew 7:6). And they consume profane law, which is hidden in their books by heretical art. All their vessels are unclean, both in body and in doctrine, and they have come to such madness that anyone who is not like them is detested as if lost.

But what is read in the Septuagint, namely, “to demons that are not,” and is not included in the Hebrew text, must be taken to mean that no demons exist, either in the literal or in the spiritual sense; this because they have already fallen away from God, who truly is. Neither do sects of heretics that retain no truth exist, but they are transitory and die like shadows. For this reason did Esther say to the Lord, “Do not surrender your heritage to those who are not.” The holy one also prays in the Psalter: “Know me not, that I may find relief before I depart to exist no longer.” For whoever did not obtain the forgiveness of sinners while living in this body, leaving life in such a condition, also perished from God and therefore ceased existing, even though continuing in punishment.…Wrath, therefore, which is desire for retribution, is not the same in God as it is in people, for its material cause lies in our sins, not in God’s will. We are the ones who “store up wrath for ourselves on the day of wrath and the day of the revelation of the just judgment of God,” so that the thorns and thistles and briars, which we have produced from the seed of God, like the wood, hay and stubble with which we built on Paul’s foundation, should be consumed by flames of wisdom. And we read about this perpetual fire in the song of Moses: “A fire is kindled in my fury, and it will burn to the depths of hell and will devour the earth and its produce. It will set the foundations of the mountains ablaze, and my arrows will destroy them.” The meaning of this testimony is that the fire and vengeance of God will burn continually against sinners and that he will pursue them to hell.

Second, as to their enthusiasm for divinations: that dwell in sepulchers, that they might have answers from the dead; in the temples (delubris), temples of idols so called from diluendo ("washing"), for they thought all things were washed away there; or because of the fonts, which were there for washing the victims and priests; and sleep, upon the hides of the victims for the purpose of divination: your temples shall be destroyed (Ezek 6:6). Third, as to the uncleanness of their food: that eat swine's flesh, and profane broth, from pork, below: they that did eat swine's flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse (Isa 66:17).

We have here a vindication of God's dealings with the Jews, Isa 65:1, Isa 65:2. To this end the prophet points out their great hypocrisy, and gives a particular enumeration of their dreadful abominations, many of which were committed under the specious guise of sanctity, Isa 65:3-5. For their horrid impieties, (recorded in writing before Jehovah), the wrath of God shall certainly come upon them to the uttermost; a prediction which was exactly fulfilled in the first and second centuries in the reigns of the Roman emperors Vespasian, Titus, and Hadrian, when the whole Jewish polity was dissolved, and the people dispersed all over the world, Isa 65:6, Isa 65:7. Though God had rejected the Jews, and called the Gentiles, who sought him not, (Rom 9:24-26), yet a remnant from among the former shall be preserved, to whom he will in due time make good all his promises, Isa 65:8-10. Denunciation of Divine vengeance against those idolaters who set in order a table for Gad, and fill out a libation to Meni, ancient idolatries, which, from the context, and from the chronological order of the events predicted, have a plain reference to the idolatries practiced by Antichrist under the guise of Christianity, Isa 65:11, Isa 65:12. Dreadful fate which awaits these gross idolaters beautifully contrasted with the great blessedness reserved for the righteous, Isa 65:13-16. Future restoration of the posterity of Jacob, and the happy state of the world in general from that most glorious epoch, represented by the strong figure of the creation of new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness, and into which no distress shall be permitted to enter, Isa 65:17-19. In this new state of things the term of human life shall be greatly protracted, and shall possess none of that uncertainty which attaches to it in "the heavens and the earth which are now." This is elegantly illustrated by the longevity of a tree; manifestly alluding to the oak or cedar of Lebanon, some individuals of which are known to have lived from seven to ten centuries, Isa 65:20-23. Beautiful figures shadowing forth the profound peace and harmony of the Church of Jesus Christ, which shall immediately follow the total overthrow of Antichrist; with a most gracious promise that the great chain of Omnipotence shall be put upon every adversary, so that none will be able any longer to hurt and destroy in all God's holy mountain, Isa 65:24, Isa 65:25. This chapter contains a defense of God's proceedings in regard to the Jews, with reference to their complaint in the chapter preceding. God is introduced declaring that he had called the Gentiles, though they had not sought him; and had rejected his own people for their refusal to attend to his repeated call; for their obstinate disobedience, their idolatrous practices, and detestable hypocrisy. That nevertheless he would not destroy them all; but would preserve a remnant, to whom he would make good his ancient promises. Severe punishments are threatened to the apostates; and great rewards are promised to the obedient in a future flourishing state of the Church. - L.

Which remain among the graves - "For the purpose of evoking the dead. They lodged in desert places that demons might appear to them; for demons do appear in such places, to those who do believe in them." - Kimchi. In the monuments "In the caverns" - בנצורים bannetsurim, a word of doubtful signification. An ancient MS. has בצורים batstsurim, another בצרים batstsurim, "in the rocks;" and Le Clec thinks the Septuagint had it so in their copy. They render it by εν τοις στηλαιοις, "in the caves." Which eat swine's flesh - This was expressly forbidden by the law, Lev 11:7, but among the heathen was in principal request in their sacrifices and feasts. Antiochus Epiphanes compelled the Jews to eat swine's flesh, as a full proof of their renouncing their religion, 2 Maccabees 6:18 and 7:1. "And the broth of abominable meats," for lustrations, magical arts, and other superstitious and abominable practices. In their vessels - For כליהם keleyhem, a MS. had at first בכליהם bichleyhem. So the Vulgate and Chaldee, (and the preposition seems necessary to the sense), "in their vessels."

GOD'S REPLY IN JUSTIFICATION OF HIS DEALINGS WITH ISRAEL. (Isa. 65:1-25) I am sought--Hebrew, "I have granted access unto Me to them," &c. (so Eze 14:3, "Should I be inquired of"; Eph 2:18). found--Rom 10:20 renders this, "I was made manifest." As an instance of the sentiment in the clause, "I am sought," &c., see Joh 12:21; of the sentiment in this clause, Act 9:5. Compare as to the Gentile converts, Eph 2:12-13. Behold me-- (Isa 45:22). nation . . . not called by my name--that is, the Gentiles. God retorts in their own words (Isa 63:19) that their plea as being exclusively "called by His name" will not avail, for God's gospel invitation is not so exclusive (Rom 9:25; Rom 1:16).

remain among . . . graves--namely, for purposes of necromancy, as if to hold converse with the dead (Isa 8:19-20; compare Mar 5:3); or, for the sake of purifications, usually performed at night among sepulchres, to appease the manes [MAURER]. monuments--Hebrew, "pass the night in hidden recesses," either the idol's inmost shrines ("consecrated precincts") [HORSLEY], where they used to sleep, in order to have divine communications in dreams [JEROME]; or better, on account of the parallel "graves," sepulchral caves [MAURER]. eat swine's flesh--To eat it at all was contrary to God's law (Lev 11:7), but it much increased their guilt that they ate it in idolatrous sacrifices (compare Isa 66:17). VARRO (On Agriculture, 2.4) says that swine were first used in sacrifices; the Latins sacrificed a pig to Ceres; it was also offered on occasion of treaties and marriages. broth--so called from the "pieces" (Margin) or fragments of bread over which the broth was poured [GESENIUS]; such broth, made of swine's flesh, offered in sacrifice, was thought to be especially acceptable to the idol and was used in magic rites. Or, "fragments (pieces) of abominable foods," &c. This fourth clause explains more fully the third, as the second does the first [MAURER]. is in--rather, literally, "is their vessels," that is, constitute their vessels' contents. The Jews, in our Lord's days, and ever since the return from Babylon, have been free from idolatry; still the imagery from idolatrous abominations, as being the sin most loathsome in God's eyes and that most prevalent in Isaiah's time, is employed to describe the foul sin of Israel in all ages, culminating in their killing Messiah, and still rejecting Him.