Isaiah 65:15 Kommentar

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.

And ye shall leave your name for a curse unto my chosen,.... Execrable and abominable to them, as the name of a Jew is to this day, and in all places; for their unbelief and impenitence, for their perfidy and insincerity, for their tricking and covetousness, and other crimes they are addicted to; see Jer 24:9, for the Lord God shall slay them; by the sword of the Romans, and by his judgments, which continue upon them; the Targum says, with the second death; and so Jarchi interprets it of eternal death, which is the just wages of sin: and call his servants by another name; a new name, as the Septuagint and Arabic versions; the name of the people of God, the Gentiles formerly were not called by; but now all that believe in Christ, whether Jews or Gentiles, are his people; the name of the sons of God, a name better than that of sons and daughters of the greatest potentate; the name which the mouth of the Lord calls, "Hephzibah" and "Beulah", being delighted in by the Lord, and married to him; or rather the name of Christians, first given to the disciples of Christ at Antioch, and ever since continued, Act 11:26.

But even if we are clearly something new, and this truly recent name of Christians has only recently been known among all the nations, our life and manner of conduct in accordance with the very teachings of our religion have not been recently fashioned by us, but, as it were, from the first creation of humanity have been established by the natural concepts of the God-favored people of old.… And by deeds more manifest than words is Abraham’s manner of religion shown to be practiced at present among Christians alone.

These things are predicted to warn those not fearing the Lord and who do not turn to him, whereas those who serve me will not only weave another kind of outcome, but just as with the patriarchs, they will receive a name and on account of their deeds new names. When the Jews were unrepentant, this name was given to the Gentiles, a name that will stand forever, that is, the name of Christians. They no longer glorify idols, singing hymns to them as if to gods. Now they sing to God, their creator. They worship him and enjoy his blessings.

(Vers. 15, 16.) And you shall dismiss your name in the oath to my chosen ones, and the Lord God will kill you, and He will call His servants by another name, in which whoever is blessed on earth will be blessed in God, amen: and whoever swears on earth will swear in God, amen. LXX: For you shall abandon your name to my chosen ones. But the Lord will kill you, and to those who serve me, a new name will be called, to whom blessings will be given on earth: for they bless the true God, and those who swear on earth will swear by the true God. In reference to satiety, which is called Sabaa in Hebrew, others have interpreted it as an oath; a word that has many meanings and is varied according to the different accents. It is understood as both an oath and satiety, and fullness, and many, and seven. We have spoken about it in the book of Genesis, and in this volume (Chapter IV), where seven women took hold of one man. Again, because it is translated by the Septuagint, it is true, and in Hebrew it is called Amen; Aquila translates it as πεπιστωμένως, that is, faithfully. But what he says is this: as others succeed you, your name will be the oath of my chosen ones, so that they may have you as an example of evils and detest such endurance, and they may swear thus: I will not suffer what the people of the Jews have suffered. Whether your name will be in satiety, which is usually said of those whose remembrance and memory is odious, and who have come to the point of satiety and disgust. Or certainly this should be said, that they should abandon their own name for the chosen ones of the Lord, so that a crowd of nations may succeed them; and they themselves may be called sons of Abraham and Israel. About whom Paul speaks: Peace be upon them, and upon the Israel of God (Galatians 6:16). For neither are those who are of Israel, Israel; nor are those who are the descendants of Abraham all his children (Romans 9:7), to whom it is said: If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham (John 8:39). And because they are the descendants of Abraham, and not his children, as we explained above, John the Baptist reproaches them, saying: And do not presume to say, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham (Matthew 3:9). For how can they be his children, who said to wood and stone, you have begotten me: when, on the contrary, those who are from faith, are called the children of Abraham? But you, he says, will be killed by the Lord, so that you will not be called circumcision, but incision (Galatians III): so that you may lack eternal life, so that you may not have the one who says: I am the life (John XIV, 6). But he says that he will call his servants by another name, or a new one, which will be celebrated throughout the whole world. And it shall be blessed: to such an extent that whoever is called by that name shall be blessed in the Lord, and shall receive the sign of true Circumcision, amen: which the Lord often uses in the Gospel to affirm what has been said: Amen, amen I say to you (John 5:19). However, there is no new or different name, except one that is derived from the name of Christ, so that the people of God should no longer be called Jacob, and Judah, and Israel, and Ephraim, and Joseph, but Christian. For whoever swears on the earth, does not swear in idols and false gods, but in God; this statement is confirmed again by the seal of Amen. Moreover, according to the Septuagint, those who translated the true God as Amen, so that the true God may be blessed, and those who swear on the earth, may swear by the true God, we refer not only to the person of God the Father, about whom it is written: That they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent (John 17:3), but also to the Son, who is himself the true God, as the evangelist John says: The Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know the true one, and we are in his true Son, Jesus Christ (John 5:20). This is the true God and eternal life. For if the Savior speaks of himself: I am the truth (John XIV, 6), consequently he received the name true God from the truth, so that he would not be called God according to false gods, but according to the true God the Father, and he himself is the true God. Otherwise, if he is not true, he will be similar to an idol, which leads to the damnation of those who deny Christ as the true God. This is, however, a new name, which is written for him in the Apocalypse upon a stone (Chapter II), to which blessing is given in the whole world.

All things have been made new in Christ—worship and life and the making of laws. For we no longer adhere to shadows and ineffective types, but rather we offer adoration and worship, in spirit and truth, to the God who is above all. We do not take our name like the physical descendants of Israel from one of the first ancestors or fathers, such as Ephraim, or Manasseh, or some other tribe; nor do we follow the path of the scribes and the Pharisees, who value the antiquity of the letter above all else; but we submit to Christ in the newness of the life of the gospel, and having been given his name, like a crown, we are called Christians. This celebrated and blessed name has spread throughout the world. And because we have been blessed by Christ, we, in turn, try to make him rejoice with blessings and ceaseless praises.

With the ungrudging generosity of his godhead, Christ has granted to all of us to bear his name. For whereas as human sovereigns have some special title of sovereignty that they keep exclusively from use by other people, Jesus Christ, being Son of God, has deigned to bestow on us the title of Christians.… But some will say, “The name of ‘Christians’ is new and was not previously in use”: and new-fashioned phrases are often objected to on the score of strangeness. The prophet made this point safe beforehand, saying, “But on my servants shall a new name be called, which shall be blessed upon the earth.”

He has already mentioned this name. It is new and not old. For after the appearance of Christ the master, those who believed were called Christians. They bore this in place of all approving words. When one wished to praise, they were accustomed to add after many kind words, “He is a true Christian.” And when on another occasion exhorting someone, they were accustomed to say, “Act as a Christian, do what befits a Christian.” So this name is full of eulogy and blessing.

Third, in difference of name, and first, he sets out the sort of name the impious shall have: and you shall leave your name for an oath to my elect, that they might confirm their words thus: if it is not so, so shall it happen to me as happened to them: by the sword, and by the famine shall they die: and they shall be for an oath, and for a wonder, and for a curse, and for a reproach (Jer 44:12). And next he sets out the sort of name the good shall have: and call his servants; in which, namely, in which name, the name is Jesus; amen, faithfully, above: you shall be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name (Isa 62:2).

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.

Shall slay thee "Shall slay you" - For והמיתך vehemithecha, shall slay thee, the Septuagint and Chaldee read והמיתכם vehemithechem, shall slay you, plural.

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).

curse--The name of "Jew" has been for long a formula of execration (compare Jer 29:22); if one wishes to curse another, he can utter nothing worse than this, "God make thee what the Jew is!" Contrast the formula (Gen 48:20) [MAURER]. my chosen--the elect Church, gathered from Jews and Gentiles, called by "another name," Christians (Act 11:26). However (see on Isa 65:13), as "My chosen," or "elect," in Isa 65:3, refers to the "seed of Jacob," the believing Jews, hereafter about to possess their land (Isa 65:19, Isa 65:22), are ultimately meant by "My chosen," as contrasted with the unbelieving Jews ("ye"). These elect Jews shall be called by "another," or a new name, that is, shall no longer be "forsaken" of God for unbelief, but shall be His "delight" and "married" to Him (Isa 62:2, Isa 62:4). thee--unbelieving Israel. Isaiah here speaks of God, whereas in the preceding sentences God Himself spake. This change of persons marks without design how completely the prophet realized God with him and in him, so that he passes, without formally announcing it, from God's words to his own, and vice versa, both alike being from God.