Isaiah 46:11 Ulasan

God, by the prophet here, designing shortly to deliver them out of their captivity, prepared them for that deliverance by possessing them with a detestation of idols and with a believing confidence in God, even their own God. I. Let them not be afraid of the idols of Babylon, as if they could in any way obstruct their deliverance, for they should be defaced (Isa 46:1, Isa 46:2); but let them trust in that God who had often delivered them to do it still, to do it now (Isa 46:3, Isa 46:4). II. Let them not think to make idols of their own, images of the God of Israel, by them to worship him, as the Babylonians worship their gods (Isa 46:5-7). Let them not be so sottish (Isa 46:8), but have an eye to God in his word, not in an image; let them depend upon that, and upon the promises and predictions of it, and God's power to accomplish them all (Isa 46:9-11). And let them know that the unbelief of man shall not make the word of God of no effect (Isa 46:12, Isa 46:13).

INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 46 This chapter contains a prophecy of the taking of Babylon by Cyrus, and of the deliverance of the Jews; who are encouraged to expect the divine protection, and a continuance of it; are dehorted from idolatry, and directed to look to the Lord alone for righteousness and salvation. The taking of Babylon is signified by the demolition of its idols, which become the plunder of the enemy, and by the carrying of the inhabitants of it captive, Isa 46:1. Then follows a promise of grace and mercy to the remnant of Israel that should now be delivered; that the Lord, who had cared for them from the infancy of their state, would not leave them in their declining times, Isa 46:3, when they are dehorted from the worship of idols, from the consideration of the matter of which they were made, as silver and gold; from their being the works of men's hands; and from their inability to move themselves, or help others; and from the Lord being the true God, as appears by his omnipotence and omniscience, Isa 46:5. A description is given of Cyrus, who should be the instrument of the Jews' deliverance from Babylon, Isa 46:11. And the chapter is concluded with an address to the stout hearted and unrighteous Jews, to observe the righteousness and salvation which were brought near and set before them, Isa 46:12.

Calling a ravenous bird from the east,.... Or "a flying fowl", or "swift winged bird" (u); for the word used does not so much denote rapaciousness as swiftness; which well agrees with Cyrus, who is here meant, and not Abraham, as Jarchi, nor Nebuchadnezzar, as others; and who was always swift in all his expeditions, and always recommended celerity and dispatch of business to his soldiers and others, as Xenophon (w) often observes; and very remarkable is that speech of Tigranes to him, in which he tells him (x), that he so far exceeded the king of Armenia in swiftness, that he came upon him with a great army, from a far country, before he could get his army together, which was just by him. And very observable are the words of Cyrus himself, who was desirous of being a thorough horseman, that he might seem to be , "a winged" or "flying man" (y) So the Targum here renders it, a swift bird. Aben Ezra, who interprets it of Cyrus, says he is so called, as if he flew to do the will of God; and Kimchi observes of Cyrus, that he has this name because he came swiftly, and in haste, as a bird that flies: and it is no unusual thing for a mighty monarch, or a general, marching with his army, to be compared to a flying bird, particularly an eagle, Jer 48:40 and may be the bird intended here, which well suits with Cyrus, who had, as Plutarch (z) reports, an aquiline nose; hence men that have such noses, among the Persians, are highly esteemed: and Xenophon (a) says, that the standard of Cyrus was a golden eagle upon the top of a high spear, and which is retained by the kings of Persia. Cyrus is said to be called from the east, because, as Kimchi observes, his country lay to the east of Babylon: the man that executeth my counsel from afar country; as Persia was from Babylon, Assyria and other provinces lying between; but though he lived in a far country, and knew nothing of the affairs of the people of God in Babylon, or what work he was to do, yet God called him, and brought him to do his will, which he was ignorant of: so God sometimes puts into the hearts of men to fulfil his will, which they are strangers to, Rev 17:17. It is in the Hebrew text, "the man of my counsel" (b); not with whom the Lord consulted, for none are of his counsel in this sense; but whom in his counsels, decrees, and purposes, he appointed to such service, and whom he made use of as an instrument to do his pleasure; see Isa 44:8. yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass: I have purposed, I will also do it; the counsel of the Lord, concerning the deliverance of his people from Babylon, by the hand of Cyrus; this he had purposed in his own breast, had spoken of in prophecy, and would certainly perform. R. Joseph Kimchi interprets this verse of the Messiah, and so does Jerom, of whom, no doubt, Cyrus was a type; and what is here said agrees with him: he may be compared to a flying bird for his swiftness in coming at the appointed time; he came from the east, as the rising sun of righteousness; he was the man of God's counsel in the highest sense, and came, being called, to execute it; the work of redemption was according to the eternal purpose of God, and spoke of by all the holy prophets, and now accomplished; and his righteousness and salvation are made mention of in the following verses. (u) "avem, a velocitate", Munster; so Vatablus; ab "in volando celeriter et cum impetu", Forerius; so Ben Melech says, Cyrus is surnamed a fowl, because of his great swiftness and haste to come to Babylon; though he observes that some say, that a ravenous fowl is called the singular may be put for the plural; so Cocceius renders it, "volucres", birds, and may design the whole army of Cyrus. (w) Cyropaedia, l. 1. c. 17. and l. 3. c. 6. and l. 6. c. 17. (x) Cyropaedia, l. 3. c. 2. (y) Ib. l. 4. c. 17. (z) In Apothegm. (a) Cyropaedia, l. 7. c. 1. (b) "virum mei consilii", Munster, Pagninus, Montanus; so according to the Keri: but the Cetib is , "the man of his counsel".

Who other can this be than his Christ, who, it says, has been called from a distant land, that is, from the innermost part of Hades? All the things I have announced before him, I will bring into action through him.

“I call a bird of prey from the east.” [Isaiah] either calls the Medes a “bird,” who will destroy the Babylonians, or the Israelites, who, in the course of their return, destroyed the Arameans, the Greeks and the house of Gog.

(Verse 8 onwards) Remember this, and be established, and return, you transgressors, to the heart. Recall the former age, for I am God, and there is no other God, nor is there anyone like me. I declare the end from the beginning, and from long ago the things that have not yet been done, saying: My purpose will stand, and I will accomplish all my desire. I call a bird of prey from the east, and from a far country a man of my counsel; I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have planned it, and I will do it. LXX: Remember these things, and groan: repent, you who go astray. Return with your heart, and remember the former things from of old: for I am God, and there is no other besides me. I announce the first things before they come to pass, and I tell you, my will shall stand, and all that I have planned, I will accomplish. I call forth a bird from the East, and from the distant land, what I have planned: I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have created and I will do it. Because I myself begot you, I myself carried you, and from infancy to old age, not by your merit, but by my mercy, you are saved: abandon the idols you have made, and return to the worship of the one God. Repent, groan for the error that has held you; rather, establish yourselves, lest a sudden whirlwind of idolatry overthrow you again: and return to your heart, that is, to your mind, which, worshipping images as if insane, you were striking against wood and stones. From the beginning, consider that there is no god apart from me, and no one else can know the future except me, who through the prophets announce what I am going to do. So when I fulfill what was predicted, I will prove my divinity through divination. For I declare that I will establish the mystery that was previously unknown to all generations and reveal my plan. And when you see it come to pass, you will know that there is no god except the one who knew and commanded these future events. I am the one who calls the bird from the East, as the Hebrews believe, the king Cyrus of the Persians, or the prince Darius of the Medes; and from a distant land, a man of my will, who fulfills all my will against Babylon and the Chaldeans. Or as we are convinced to be true, the Lord Savior, about whom even Balaam prophesies: A star shall come out of Jacob, and a man shall rise out of Israel (Numbers 24:17), whose name is the East (Zechariah 6), whom the Magi from the East worshipped. For he speaks here in the Psalms: 'God, I desired to do your will' (Psalm 39:9), about whom the Father spoke and confirmed his promise by his works. In the Septuagint, since we translated from the Hebrew, they have put 'a man of my will' instead, which I have considered. Therefore, according to them, the birds called from the East, we can understand the ministries of the angels, which run throughout the world in obedience to the Lord's command. They are the ministering spirits who are sent for the salvation of the believers. Of whom it is also sung in the Psalms: 'You make your angels spirits, and your ministers a burning fire' (Psalm 103:4).

All is easy for the God of the universe. Not only the beings endowed with reason but even those devoid of it submit to divine authority. In addition, by the term “bird” he has clearly shown the speed of Israel’s return from exile.

And he sets out the order of liberation: who call a bird from the east, Cyrus, called a bird because of the swiftness of his victory; or Christ, above: who has raised up the just one from the east? (Isa 41:2).

The difference between the preceding and the subsequent prophecies in point of composition is very remarkable; the last excelling much in majesty and elegance. This chapter (of which the first verse forms a general title to this and the five chapters following) contains two distinct prophecies relating to Egypt. The first was delivered previous to an engagement between Pharaoh-necho, king of Egypt, and Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon; in which the Egyptians were routed in Carchemish with great slaughter, as here predicted. The prophet sees the mighty preparations; but they are all declared to be of no avail, as God had decreed their fall, Jer 46:1-6. The King of Egypt, however, is represented as marching with all the confidence of victory, like a river overflowing its banks, and threatening all around with its inundation, Jer 46:7, Jer 46:8. But this immense armament of Pharaoh-necho, consisting of various nations, shall, by a righteous judgment of God, receive such a signal overthrow near the river Euphrates, that the political consequence of Egypt shall be thereby irretrievably ruined, and its remaining power become contemptible in the sight of the nations, Jer 46:9-12. The other prophecy, beginning at the thirteenth verse, relates to the memorable overthrow of the Egyptians by Nebuchadnezzar, subsequent to his siege of Tyre, in the sixteenth year after the destruction of Jerusalem, Jer 46:13-26. The promise, in the conclusion of the chapter, of preservation to the Jews, (who have for many ages continued a distinct people, when the various nations of antiquity who oppressed them, or with whom they had any intercourse, have long ago ceased to have any separate and visible existence), has been most remarkably fulfilled; and is a very signal act of providence, and a pledge of the restoration of Israel to the Divine favor, when the time of the Gentiles shall be fulfilled, Jer 46:27, Jer 46:28.

Calling a ravenous bird from the east "Calling from the east the eagle" - A very proper emblem for Cyrus, as in other respects, so particularly because the ensign of Cyrus was a golden eagle, ΑΕΤΟΣ χρυσους, the very word עיט ayit, which the prophet uses here, expressed as near as may be in Greek letters. Xenoph. Cyrop. lib. 7 sub. init. Kimchi says his father understood this, not of Cyrus, but of the Messiah. From a far country "From a land far distant" - Two MSS. add the conjunction ו vau, ומארץ umeerets; and so the Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate.

BABYLON'S IDOLS COULD NOT SAVE THEMSELVES, MUCH LESS HER. BUT GOD CAN AND WILL SAVE ISRAEL: CYRUS IS HIS INSTRUMENT. (Isa 46:1-13) Bel--the same as the Phœnician Baal, that is, lord, the chief god of Babylon; to it was dedicated the celebrated tower of Babylon, in the center of one of the two parts into which the city was divided, the palace being in the center of the other. Identical with the sun, worshipped on turrets, housetops, and other high places, so as to be nearer the heavenly hosts (Saba) (Jer 19:13; Jer 32:29; Zep 1:5). GESENIUS identifies Bel with the planet Jupiter, which, with the planet Venus (under the name Astarte or Astaroth), was worshipped in the East as the god of fortune, the most propitious star to be born under (see on Isa 65:11). According to the Apocryphal book, Bel and the Dragon, Bel was cast down by Cyrus. boweth . . . stoopeth--falleth prostrate (Isa 10:4; Sa1 5:3-4; Psa 20:8). Nebo--the planet Mercury or Hermes, in astrology. The scribe of heaven, answering to the Egyptian Anubis. The extensive worship of it is shown by the many proper names compounded of it: Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuzar-adan, Nabonassar, &c. were upon--that is, were a burden (supplied from the following clause) upon. It was customary to transport the gods of the vanquished to the land of the conquerors, who thought thereby the more effectually to keep down the subject people (Sa1 5:1, &c.; Jer 48:7; Jer 49:3; Dan 11:8). carriages--in the Old English sense of the things carried, the images borne by you: the lading (Act 21:15), "carriages," not the vehicles, but the baggage. Or, the images which used to be carried by you formerly in your solemn processions [MAURER]. were heavy loaden--rather, are put as a load on the beasts of burden [MAURER]. HORSLEY translates, "They who should have been your carriers (as Jehovah is to His people, Isa 46:3-4) are become burdens" (see on Isa 46:4).

ravenous bird--Cyrus so called on account of the rapidity of his marches from the distant regions of Persia to pounce on his prey (see on Isa 41:2; Isa 41:25; Jer 49:22; Eze 17:3). The standard of Cyrus, too, was a golden eagle on a spear (see the heathen historian, XENOPHON, 7, where almost the same word is used, aetos, as here, ayit). executeth my counsel-- (Isa 44:28; Isa 45:13). Babylon represents, mystically, the apostate faction: the destruction of its idols symbolizes the future general extirpation of all idolatry and unbelief. purposed . . . also do it-- (Isa 43:13).

There follows now a trilogy of prophecies referring to Babylon. After the prophet has shown what Israel has to expect of Cyrus, he turns to what awaits Babylon at the hands of Cyrus. "Bel sinketh down, Nebo stoopeth; its images come to the beast of burden and draught cattle: your litters are laden, a burden for the panting. They stopped, sank down all at once, and could not get rid of the burden; and their own self went into captivity." The reference to Babylon comes out at once in the names of the gods. Bēl was the Jupiter of the Babylonians and, as Bel-Merodach, the tutelar deity of Babylon; Nebo was Mercury, the tutelar deity of the later Chaldean royal family, as the many kings' names in which it appears clearly show (e.g., Mabonassar, Nabo-polassar, etc.). The pryamidal heap of ruins on the right bank of the Euphrates, which is now called Birs Nimrud, is the ruin of the temple of Bel, of which Herodotus gives a description in i. 181-183, and probably also of the tower mentioned in Gen 11, which was dedicated to Bel, if not to El = Saturn. Herodotus describes two golden statues of Bel which were found there (cf., Diodorus, ii. 9, 5), but the way in which Nebo was represented is still unknown. The judgment of Jehovah falls upon these gods through Cyrus. Bel suddenly falls headlong, and Nebo stoops till he also falls. Their images come to (fall to the lot of) the chayyâh, i.e., the camels, dromedaries, and elephants; and behēmâh, i.e., horses, oxen, and asses. Your נשׂאת, gestamina, the prophet exclaims to the Babylonians, i.e., the images hitherto carried by you in solemn procession (Isa 45:20; Amo 5:26; Jer 10:5), are now packed up, a burden for that which is wearied out, i.e., for cattle that has become weary with carrying them. In Isa 46:1, as the two participial clauses show, the prophet still takes his stand in the midst of the catastrophe; but in Isa 46:2 it undoubtedly lies behind him as a completed act. In Isa 46:2 he continues, as in Isa 46:1, to enter into the delusion of the heathen, and distinguish between the numina and simulacra. The gods of Babylon have all stooped at once, have sunken down, and have been unable to save their images which were packed upon the cattle, out of the hands of the conquerors. In Isa 46:2 he destroys this delusion: they are going into captivity (Hos 10:5; Jer 48:7; Jer 49:3), even "their ownself" (naphshâm), since the self or personality of the beingless beings consists of nothing more than the wood and metal of which their images are composed.