Isaia 60:7 Commento

This whole chapter is all to the same purport, all in the same strain; it is a part of God's covenant with his church, which is spoken of in the last verse of the foregoing chapter, and the blessings here promised are the fruits of the word and Spirit there promised. The long continuance of the church, even unto the utmost ages of time, was there promised, and here the large extent of the church, even unto the utmost regions of the earth; and both these tend to the honour of the Redeemer. It is here promised, I. That the church shall be enlightened and shone upon (Isa 60:1, Isa 60:2). II. That it shall be enlarged and great additions made to it, to join in the service of God (Isa 60:3-8). III. That the new converts shall be greatly serviceable to the church and to the interests of it (Isa 60:9-13). IV. That the church shall be in great honour and reputation among men (Isa 60:14-16). V. That it shall enjoy a profound peace and tranquility (Isa 60:17, Isa 60:18). VI. That, the members of it being all righteous, the glory and joy of it shall be everlasting (Isa 60:19-22). Now this has some reference to the peaceable and prosperous condition which the Jews were sometimes in after their return out of captivity into their own land; but it certainly looks further, and was to have its full accomplishment in the kingdom of the Messiah, the enlargement of that kingdom by the bringing in of the Gentiles into it, and the spiritual blessings in heavenly things by Christ Jesus with which it should be enriched, and all these earnests of eternal joy and glory.

INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 60. As, in the two preceding chapters, the hypocrisy and formality, the profaneness and immorality, that should abound in the latter day, and even among professors of religion, are prophesied of; so, in this, a very ample account is given of latter daylight and glory; of both the spiritual and personal reign of Christ, with the latter of which it concludes. The light and glory of the church, in the spiritual reign, are described, Isa 60:1 the numerous conversions of persons to it from all quarters, east and west particularly, are prophesied of, Isa 60:4, the great usefulness those should be of unto it, in enriching it, and building it up, and in glorifying it, is declared, Isa 60:9, as also the subjection of enemies to it; the favours it should receive from kings, and the fame and renown of it through all nations and ages, Isa 60:14, its riches, prosperity, peace, and safety, Isa 60:17 and the chapter is concluded with an account of the more perfect state of the church in the personal reign of Christ, when there will be a perfection of light and righteousness; and the number of God's elect will be complete, and they will be all together, Isa 60:19.

All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered unto thee, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee,.... Nebaioth and Kedar were the sons of Ishmael, Gen 25:13, Ishmael's twelve sons, of which Nebaioth was the eldest, inhabited all the country from Euphrates to the Red sea, calling it the Nabatene country, as Josephus (b) says; these design the Turks and Saracens, who shall now be converted. The Targum is, "all the sheep of the Arabians shall be gathered unto thee;'' that is, these shall come with their sheep and rams, not to be offered up in sacrifice, for such sacrifices will not be used; but these, being the produce of the countries of these people, are mentioned to show, that being affected with the grace of God towards them, and influenced by it, will bring the best and chief of their substance to serve the interest of Christ, and glorify him with it: they shall come up with acceptance on my altar; both they and their sacrifices and offerings will become acceptable to God through Christ, who is that altar that sanctifies every gift: and I will glorify the house of my glory: with this large number of converts, and with the gifts and offerings they bring with them; the church is meant, which is the house of God, where he dwells and manifests his glory, the glory of himself, of his grace, and of his Gospel; see Jer 30:19. (b) Antiqu. I. 1. c. 12. sect 4.

(Verse 6, 7) The flood of camels shall cover you, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah. All those from Sheba shall come, bringing gold and frankincense, and proclaiming the praise of the Lord. All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered to you, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister to you; they shall be offered on my acceptable altar, and I will glorify the house of my majesty. LXX: And the herds of camels shall come to you, the camels of Midian and Ephah shall cover you; all those from Sheba shall come, bringing gold and frankincense, and proclaiming the salvation of the Lord. All the flocks of Cedar shall be gathered unto thee, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee: they shall come up with acceptance on mine altar, and I will glorify the house of my glory. Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows? Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the LORD thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because he hath glorified thee. And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee: for in my wrath I smote thee, but in my favour have I had mercy on thee. Therefore thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought. For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted. The regions of Midian and Ephah are across Arabia, fertile for camels, and the whole province is called Sheba, where the Queen of Sheba was, who came to hear the wisdom of Solomon: and she brought gold and frankincense, bringing many things to the peaceful king, and receiving even greater things from him (3 Kings 10). But the region of the Saracens is called Kedar, who are called Ishmaelites in Scripture. And Nebajoth is one of the sons of Ishmael, from whose names the desert is named, which is lacking in crops but full of cattle. Therefore, through the names of the barbarian peoples who are near Israel, the conversion of the whole world is preached. For Midian, indeed, is interpreted as wickedness in this place. Ephah, loosened, or pouring out. Sheba, conversion, or captivity. Kedar, darkness. Nebaioth, prophecies. Therefore, the flocks of camels, being freed from the bonds of wickedness and pouring out their souls to God, will cover Jerusalem with gifts, and all will come out of captivity, bringing the gold of faith with their conversion, and the incense of sacrifice. And not content with these gifts, they will progress, so that they may preach the salvation of God to others as well. That rich man, who carried the weight of riches like a camel in the Gospel, and a camel he was, did not want to hear the Lord's advice, nor be freed, so that, having thrown off the burden, he could fly to heaven on the wings of a dove; therefore, he went away sad. And about this kind of camel, the Savior speaks: It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 19:24). She proposed the difficulty of the thing, not the impossibility. Finally, your mother of sacred memory, Paula, and your brother Pammachius, through the eye of a needle, that is, through a narrow and tight path that leads to life, passed through the stars of heaven, leaving behind the wide road with burdens, which leads to Tartarus. Indeed, they carried whatever they had as gifts of the Lord, fulfilling what is written: The redemption of a man's soul is his own riches (Prov. XIII, 8). For what is impossible among humans is possible for God (Matthew 19). Having as principal gifts gold, in the sense of the best odor, and incense, and saying: Let my prayer be directed like incense in your sight. And: We are the good odor of Christ in every place (2 Corinthians 2, 15); by the example of his virtue, announcing the salvation of the Lord every day, so that all the sheep of Kedar may be gathered in the Church, and may pass from the darkness of error to the light. The rams of the Prophets, about whom it is sung in Psalm 28: Bring to the Lord, O sons of God, bring to the Lord the sons of rams, let them come and be offered, or according to Theodotion, let them offer themselves as a sacrifice to the Lord, and let them become propitiatory victims, so that the Church of Christ may be glorified. The Savior spoke to his disciples about these kinds of sheep: Go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matthew 10:3). And again: My sheep hear my voice (John 10:3). And in Ezekiel more fully: Behold, I will seek my sheep, and I will visit them: as the shepherd visiteth his flock. Thus saith the Lord God: I will require that which is lost, and bring back that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was weak, and that which was strong I will preserve: and I will feed them in judgment (Ezech. XXXIV, 11, 12). And that we may know what those sheep are, He explains more clearly: And they shall know that I am the Lord their God: and you, O my flocks, the flocks of my pasture, are men: and I am the Lord your God (Ibid., 27, 28). If therefore anyone among the Gentiles is wealthy, let him be saved like a camel, not without gifts and offerings, so that he may preach the word of the Lord. If anyone is like the simplicity of sheep and the authority of rams, let him ascend or be offered on the altar of the Lord by those who are in power, so that his house may be glorified. But what we have noted in Hebrew script: The rams of Nabajoth shall minister to you, and they shall offer on my acceptable altar, is properly understood of those who, chosen from among the Gentiles, are ministers of the Savior. But if someone is contentious and disputes these things in a carnal way, let us respond to him: We do not have such a custom, nor does the Church of God (1 Corinthians 11:16). And let us say that even if these things were promised carnally to the Jews, they were still promised conditionally, so that if they had received their own light, which had been sent to them, then they would also have followed these things. Namely, that through desire for gold and the abundance of wealth and carnal things, by which this nation was always captivated, they would receive the sent Son of God to themselves. But because they did not receive him, everything was taken away and the inheritance was spiritually restored to those who receive it.

The text teaches that irrational beasts share in the light of the knowledge of God. And it is not thoughtless gifts that on the altar are offered, but acceptable ones that are pleasing. He says, “A sacrifice of praise will glorify me” and “Sacrifice an offering of praise to God.”

Second, as to clean animals, inasmuch as they were granted to be used for food: all the flocks of Cedar, the son of Ismael, from whom a land, which abounds in sheep, has its name; the rams of Nabaioth, another son of Ismael; shall minister to you, be granted for your use, sold to the people who are in you; and inasmuch as they were granted for the use of sacrifices: they shall be offered upon my acceptable altar, that is, in which I am pleased. By the altar is signified faith; by the rams, the leaders of the flock, the apostles and the prelates of the Churches; by the flocks, the simple people: I will fill this house with glory (Hag 2:8).

The glorious prospect displayed in this chapter seems to have elevated the prophet even above his usual majesty. The subject is the very flourishing condition of the Church of Jesus Christ at that period of the Gospel dispensation when both Jews and Gentiles shall become one fold under one Shepherd. The imagery employed is of the most consolatory and magnificent description. This blessed state of the world shall follow a time of gross darkness, Isa 60:1, Isa 60:2. The universal diffusion of vital godliness beautifully set forth by a great variety of images, Isa 60:3-14. The everlasting duration and spotless purity of this kingdom of Christ, Isa 60:15-21. A time appointed in the counsels of Jehovah for the commencement of this happy period; and when this time arrives, the particulars of the prophecy shall have a speedy accomplishment, Isa 60:22. The subject of this chapter is the great increase and flourishing state of the Church of God by the conversion and accession of the heathen nations to it, which is set forth in such ample and exalted terms, as plainly show that the full completion of this prophecy is reserved for future times. This subject is displayed in the most splendid colors under a great variety of images highly poetical, designed to give a general idea of the glories of that perfect state of the Church of God which we are taught to expect in the latter times; when the fullness of the Gentiles shall come in, and the Jews shall be converted and gathered from their dispersions, and the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ. Of the use in prophecy of general or common poetical images, in setting forth the greatness and importance of a future event universally, without descending to particulars, or too minutely explaining circumstances, I have already pretty largely treated in the twentieth prelection on the Hebrew poetry; and have more than once observed in these notes that such images are not always to he applied particularly to persons and things, and were never intended to be minutely explained. I shall add here the opinion of a very learned and judicious person upon this subject: "It is, I think, a mark of right understanding in the language of prophecy, and in the design of prophecy too, to keep to what appears the design and meaning of the prophecy in general, and what the whole of it laid together points out to us, and not to suffer a warm imagination to mislead us from the real intention of the spirit of prophecy, by following uncertain applications of the parts of it." Lowman on the Revelation, note on Rev 19:21 (note). - L. To this testimony I must add my own. This is one of the most glorious chapters in the whole of the Old Testament. The splendor, glory, and excellence of the Church of Christ are here pointed out in language which the Spirit of God alone is capable of using. But when shall this state of blessedness take place? Lord, thou only knowest.

The rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee - Vitringa on the place understands their ministering, and ascending or going up on the altar, as offering themselves voluntarily: ipsi se, non expectato sacerdote alto, gloriae et sanctificationi divini nominis ultro ac libenter oblaturi. "They, waiting for no priest, go and freely offer themselves to the glory and sanctification of the sacred name." This gives a very elegant and poetical turn to the image. It was a general notion that prevailed with sacrificers among the heathen, that the victim's being brought without reluctance to the altar was a good omen; and the contrary a bad one. Sabinos petit aliquanto tristior; quod sacrificanti hostia aufugerat. Sueton. Titus, cap. 10. Accessit dirum omen, profugus altaribus tauris. "It was an omen of dreadful portent when the victim fled away from the altar." Tacit. Hist. 3:56. - L.

ISRAEL'S GLORY AFTER HER AFFLICTION. (Isa. 60:1-22) Arise--from the dust in which thou hast been sitting as a mourning female captive (Isa 3:26; Isa 52:1-2). shine--or, "be enlightened; for thy light cometh"; impart to others the spiritual light now given thee (Isa 60:3). The Margin and GESENIUS translate, "Be enlightened"; be resplendent with posterity; imperative for the future indicative, "Thou shalt be enlightened" (Isa 58:8, Isa 58:10; Eph 5:8, Eph 5:14). glory of the Lord--not merely the Shekinah, or cloud of glory, such as rested above the ark in the old dispensation, but the glory of the Lord in person (Jer 3:16-17). is risen--as the sun (Mal 4:2; Luk 1:78, Margin).

Kedar-- (Isa 21:16; Sol 1:5), in the south of Arabia-Deserta, or north of Arabia-PetrÃ&brvbra; they traded in flocks (Eze 27:21). Nebaioth--son of Ishmael, as was Kedar. Father of the Nabatheans in Arabia-PetrÃ&brvbra. minister--by coming up as an acceptable sacrifice. come up with acceptance--that is, acceptably. The rams offering themselves voluntarily (Psa 68:30; Rom 12:1; Pe1 2:5), without waiting for any other priest, answer to believers strong in faith and lamb-like meekness; and in the white fleece-like robe of sanctity [VITRINGA]. house of my glory--the temple (Eze. 41:1-26; Hag 2:7, Hag 2:9; Mal 3:1).

It is still night. The inward and outward condition of the church is night; and if it is night followed by a morning, it is so only for those who "against hope believe in hope." The reality which strikes the senses is the night of sin, of punishment, of suffering, and of mourning - a long night of nearly seventy years. In this night, the prophet, according to the command of God, has bee prophesying of the coming light. In his inward penetration of the substance of his own preaching, he has come close to the time when faith is to be turned to sight. And now in the strength of God, who has made him the mouthpiece of His own creative fiat, he exclaims to the church, Isa 60:1 : "Arise, grow light; for thy light cometh, and the glory of Jehovah riseth upon thee." The appeal so addressed to Zion-Jerusalem, which is regarded (as in Isa 49:18; Isa 50:1; Isa 52:1-2; Isa 54:1) as a woman, and indeed as the mother of Israel. Here, however, it is regarded as the church redeemed from banishment, and settled once more in the holy city and the holy land, the church of salvation, which is now about to become the church of glory. Zion lies prostrate on the ground, smitten down by the judgment of God, brought down to the ground by inward prostration, and partly overcome by the sleep of self-security. She now hears the cry, "Arise" (qūmı̄). This is not a mere admonition, but a word of power which puts new life into her limbs, so that she is able to rise from the ground, on which she has lain, as it were, under the ban. The night, which has brought her to the ground mourning, and faint, and intoxicated with sleep, is now at an end. The mighty word qūmı̄, "arise," is supplemented by a second word: 'ōrı̄. What creative force there is in these two trochees, qūmı̄ 'ōrı̄, which hold on, as it were, till what they express is accomplished; and what force of consolation in the two iambi, ki-bhâ 'ōrēkh, which affix, as it were, to the acts of Zion the seal of the divine act, and add to the ἄρσις (or elevation) its θέσις (or foundation)! Zion is to become light; it is to, because it can. But it cannot of itself, for in itself it has no light, because it has so absolutely given itself up to sin; but there is a light which will communicate itself to her, viz., the light which radiates from the holy nature of God Himself. And this light is salvation, because the Holy One loves Zion: it is also glory, because it not only dispels the darkness, but sets itself, all glorious as it is, in the place of the darkness. Zârach is the word commonly applied to the rising of the sun (Mal 4:2). The sun of suns is Jehovah (Psa 84:12), the God who is coming (Isa 59:20).