Isaiah 49:9 Ulasan

Glorious things had been spoken in the previous chapters concerning the deliverance of the Jews out of Babylon; but lest any should think, when it was accomplished, that it looked much greater and brighter in the prophecy than in the performance, and that the return of about 40,000 Jews in a poor condition out of Babylon to Jerusalem was not an event sufficiently answering to the height and grandeur of the expressions used in the prophecy, he here comes to show that the prophecy had a further intention, and was to have its full accomplishment in a redemption that should as far outdo these expressions as the other seemed to come short of them, even the redemption of the world by Jesus Christ, of whom not only Cyrus, who was God's servant in foretelling it, was a type. In this chapter we have, I. The designation of Christ, under the type of Isaiah, to his office as Mediator (Isa 49:1-3). II. The assurance given him of the success of his undertaking among the Gentiles (Isa 49:4-8). III. The redemption that should be wrought by him, and the progress of that redemption (Isa 49:9-12). IV. The encouragement given hence to the afflicted church (Isa 49:13-17). V. The addition of many to it, and the setting up of a church among the Gentiles (Isa 49:18-23). VI. A ratification of the prophecy of the Jews' release out of Babylon, which was to be the figure and type of all these blessings, (Isa 49:24-26). If this chapter be rightly understood, we shall see ourselves to be more concerned in the prophecies relating to the Jews' deliverance out of Babylon than we thought we were.

INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 49 This is a prophecy concerning Christ, and redemption by him; and of the enlargement of the church in the latter day, by the conversion of Jews and Gentiles; which the isles, and people afar off, are exhorted to listen and hearken to, delivered out by the prophet, in the person of Christ; who gives an account of his call to his office, and the time of it; of what the Lord did for him, and said unto him, Isa 49:1, then follows a complaint of his labouring in vain, and a correction of it, Isa 49:4 and a further declaration of his call and appointment to office, and of each of the parts of the work assigned him, with encouragement to it, Isa 49:5. Christ is again represented under discouraging circumstances, as despised of men, abhorred by the nation, and a servant of rulers; who is encouraged by divine promises that kings should rise up before him, and worship him; that God would be faithful to his promise to him, and yet choose him, hear and help him, at a proper time; preserve him, and give him for a covenant to the people, to the establishment of the earth, and making it habitable, Isa 49:7 for the release of prisoners, and feeding, leading, and guiding them, and removing all difficulties out of the way, Isa 49:9 when the calling of the Gentiles is foretold, which would occasion great joy in the world, Isa 49:12 yet the church is introduced as complaining that she was forsaken of God, Isa 49:14 which is denied, and the contrary affirmed; being dear to the Lord as a sucking child to its mother, and more so; never forgotten by him, and always under his care, Isa 49:16, and, for her comfort, she is assured that those who had destroyed and made her waste should be removed; and that she should have converts that would be an ornament to her, and these numerous, insomuch that the place of their habitation would be too strait and narrow, and which would be matter of astonishment to her, Isa 49:17 and, besides those that would be converted in the land of Judea, there would be great numbers in the Gentile world converted by the power of God accompanying his Gospel, set up as a standard there, kings and queens countenancing and encouraging the interest of Christ, Isa 49:22 and yet still it is questioned whether the church should be delivered from her oppressors, Isa 49:24 to which it is answered, that she should be delivered, and her persecutors destroyed; by which it would be known that the Lord is the Redeemer and Saviour of his people, Isa 49:25.

That thou mayest say to the prisoners, go forth,.... God's covenant people, while unconverted, are prisoners; they are in the prison of sin, under the power and dominion of it, and under the guilt of it, and obligation to punishment for it; and they are in the prison of the law, they are transgressors of it, and are accused and convicted by it, and are condemned, and put in prison, and held there; and they are also Satan's prisoners, and are held and led captive by him at his will; and by virtue of the covenant, and the blood of it, these prisoners are set free; and Christ in the. Gospel speaks unto them, and proclaims liberty to them; and by the knowledge of the truth they are made free, and are brought into the liberty of the children of God; and are bid to go forth, and they are brought forth from their prison houses; and bid to go to the house of God, and walk at liberty, enjoying all the privileges and ordinances of the Gospel: to them that are in darkness; in a state of nature and unregeneracy, which is a state of infidelity and ignorance; when men are in the dark, and know not themselves, nor their lost state and condition; nor the exceeding sinfulness of sin; nor Christ, and the way of salvation by him; nor the Spirit, and the operations of his grace; nor the Scriptures, and the doctrines of them: show yourselves; among the people of God, in his house and ordinances, when called, converted, and enlightened by Christ; or "be revealed" (c) or manifested, when they are known to be, what they were not knows before, the people and children of God. The Targum is, "be revealed to the light;'' such are called to partake of the light of grace, and to enjoy the light of comfort and communion: they shall feed in the ways; not in the broad road and highways of sin, but in the ways of God, in the word and ordinances: this denotes the publicness and pleasantness of them, and the plenty of provisions in them; and yet where it might not be expected, and where exposed to enemies: the allusion is to cattle, that are drove from place to place, and as they pass along feed in the ways upon such pasture as they there find; and suggests, that the saints are travellers, and as such have food provided them by the way: and their pastures shall be in all high places; on hills and mountains, which are often barren and unfruitful. The Targum is, "in or by rivers of water shall be the place of their habitation.'' (c) "revelamini", V. L. Munster, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.

[When] we have changed our creditor, we have not entirely escaped, or, rather, we have escaped, but the debt remains, while the interest is canceled, the Lord Jesus saying, “To them that are bound, come forth. And to them that are in prison, go forth,” for your sins have been forgiven. He has forgiven all, and there is no one whom he has not set free.

(Versed 8 and following) Thus says the Lord: In a time of favor I have answered you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you; I have kept you and given you as a covenant to the people, to establish the land, to apportion the desolate heritages; saying to the prisoners, 'Come out,' to those who are in darkness, 'Show yourselves.' They shall feed along the ways, on all bare heights shall be their pasture; they shall not hunger or thirst, neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them down, for he who has pity on them will lead them, and by springs of water will guide them. And I will make all my mountains a road, and my paths will be exalted. Behold, these will come from afar, and behold, those from the north and the sea, and these from the land of the south. Praise, heavens, and rejoice, earth; sing praises, mountains, for the Lord has comforted his people and will have mercy on his poor ones. LXX: Thus says the Lord: In the time of opportunity, I have heard you, and on the day of salvation, I have helped you. And I have formed you and given you as a covenant to the nations, to establish the land and possess the deserted inheritances. And you will say to those who are in chains, 'Come out,' and to those who are in darkness, 'Be revealed.' They will have pasture on all the ways, and their grazing grounds will be in all the paths. They will not hunger or thirst, nor will the scorching heat or sun strike them; for He who has compassion on them will comfort them, and He will guide them to springs of water. I will make every mountain into a road, and every path into their grazing ground. Look, these will come from far away; these from the north and the sea; and others from the land of Persia. Rejoice, O heavens, and let the earth exult, let the mountains burst into joy, for God has had mercy on his people and consoled the lowly. The Apostle Paul used this testimony in his second Letter to the Corinthians, saying, 'In an acceptable time I have heeded you, and on the day of salvation I have helped you.' Behold, now is the acceptable time, etc. (1 Cor. 6:2). Therefore, if the vessel of election pertains to the understanding of what is said about the first advent, and we follow the footsteps of its exposition, and like little children, imprint the letters on the shadowed lines of the Teacher. Time is favorable and opportune, and the day of salvation, it is the passion of the Savior and his resurrection, when he prayed on the cross: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? (Matthew 27:46). And he saved him, or rather formed him, by overcoming death, and he gave him to the covenant of the Jewish people, namely to those who wanted to believe: so that he would revive the earth, which lay in the errors of idolatry, and possess the scattered or deserted inheritances, which had no God as its inhabitant, and he would say to those who were in chains, 'Come out, you who are bound by the chains of sin, for each one is bound by the ropes of his own sins' (Proverbs 5); and to those who were in darkness, 'Be revealed.' Those who sat in darkness and the shadow of death, and could not see the light, after they have been converted and have seen the bright light of Christ, will be nourished in the ways and paths of the holy Scriptures, and will say: The Lord feeds me and nothing shall be lacking to me, He has placed me in a place of pasture: He has brought me up on the waters of refreshment (Ps. 22:2). And whoever has been nourished and nurtured in these ways and paths, will not hunger, nor thirst, nor feel the heat of the sun: and what is written about him will be fulfilled: The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night (Ps. 120:6). So that he may not feel the adversities or the prosperity of this world. For indeed the Lord, who is merciful and compassionate, will console and guide them, and lead them to the fountains of water. He will give them to drink from the fountains, as it is written: Bless the Lord, you fountains of Israel (Psalm 68:27) . And in another place: Draw water with joy from the fountains of salvation (Isaiah 12:3) . These fountains are both in the Old Testament and the New. And the Lord will turn all the stumbling blocks that could hinder the steps of the believers into level ground, and he will humble the high places and exalt the lowly, so that they may have a smooth and open path. He makes it more apparent who these people are for whom the way is being prepared: Behold, these will come from afar: and behold, those from the north and the sea, and these from the land of the south. Showing the four corners of the world, the East and the North, the West and the South, he placed the East far away: for the southern region, it is read in Hebrew as Sinim (which the LXX interpreted as Persians). The rest expressed sinim as it is read in Hebrew, which we have interpreted as from the south (or also from the south wind): suspecting that Mount Sinai is located in the southern part, according to the Prophet Habakkuk: God will come from the south: and the Holy One from Mount Paran shaded and hiding (Habakkuk 3). But if we follow the Septuagint, we understand the Persians, who are situated towards the East, to be referred to in the above passage: Behold, they shall come from afar, from the South. And it is commanded to the heavens and the earth, or to those powers which dwell in heaven and earth, or to the angels and men, to sing praises to God. And those who are set in high places of power should testify to the joy of their minds with rejoicing and exultation. For the Lord has comforted His people, those among the Jews who wished to believe. And he had compassion on his poor and humble people: whether they were called to him from the East and the West, the North and the South, not having the Law or the Prophets or spiritual riches: but abandoned, poor and humble, they were subject to all demons.

To apply these words to Zerubabbel is absolute nonsense. For Zerubbabel led the Jews out of Babylon, but he did not deliver the nations from error or present the new covenant to the nations. Isaiah says these things about the Lord Christ; it is Christ who has filled the wilderness of the world with divine shoots. He has restored the ruined earth, set those trapped in sins free from chains and illuminated those sitting in darkness with the light of the knowledge of God.

Show yourselves, that is, be illuminated. 902. Second, he sets out the things that will follow the liberation, promising abundance of good things to the liberated people: they shall feed in the ways, that is, they shall enjoy consolations so abundantly like sheep in pasture, when it is even found in the way beyond what is usual: they shall rest on the green grass (Ezek 34:14).

This chapter is a collection of prophecies relating to several nations in the neighborhood of Judea; and, like those preceding, are supposed to have been fulfilled by the ministry of Nebuchadnezzar during the thirteen years' siege of Tyre. The chapter opens with a prophecy concerning the Ammonites, whose chief city, Rabbah, shall be destroyed; and Malcom, the supreme divinity of the people, with all his retinue of priests and officers, carried into captivity, Jer 49:1-5. Promise that the Ammonites shall be restored to their liberty, Jer 49:6. Prophecy against the Edomites, (very like that most dreadful one in the thirty-fourth chapter of Isaiah against the same people), who shall be utterly exterminated, after the similitude of Sodom and Gomorrah, vv. 7-22. Prophecy against Damascus, Jer 49:23-27; and against Kedar, Jer 49:28, Jer 49:29. Utter desolation of the kingdoms of Hazor foretold, Jer 49:30-33. The polity of the Elamites shall be completely dissolved, and the people dispersed throughout the nations, Jer 49:34-38. The Elamites shall be delivered from their captivity in the latter days, Jer 49:39. It wilt be proper here to observe that these predictions should not be so explained as if they admitted of merely a private interpretation; for, as Bishop Lowth remarks upon Isaiah's prophecy concerning the Idumeans, "by a figure very common in the prophetical writings, any city or people, remarkably distinguished as enemies of the people and kingdom of God, is put for those enemies in general;" therefore, it is under the Gospel dispensation that these prophecies shall be accomplished to their fullest extent upon all the antichrtstian nations that have sinned after the similitude of the ancient enemies of the people of God under the Mosaic economy.

To them that are in darkness "And to those that are in darkness" - Fifteen MSS. (five ancient) of Dr. Kennicott's, eleven of De Rossi's, and one ancient of my own, and the two old editions of 1486 and 1488, and three others, add the conjunction ו vau at the beginning of this member. Another MS. had it so at first, and two others have a rasure at the place: and it is expressed by the Septuagint, Syriac, Chaldee, and Vulgate.

SIMILAR TO CHAPTER 42 (Isa 49:1-9). (Isa. 49:1-26) O isles--Messiah is here regarded as having been rejected by the Jews (Isa 49:4-5), and as now turning to the Gentiles, to whom the Father hath given Him "for a light and salvation." "Isles" mean all regions beyond sea. from the womb-- (Isa 44:2; Luk 1:31; Joh 10:36). from . . . bowels . . . mention of my name--His name "Jesus" (that is, God-Saviour) was designated by God before His birth (Mat 1:21).

(Isa 42:7; Zac 9:12). prisoners--the Jews bound in legal bondage. them . . . in darkness--the Gentiles having no light as to the one true God [VITRINGA]. Show yourselves--not only see but be seen (Mat 5:16; Mar 5:19). Come forth from the darkness of your prison into the light of the Sun of righteousness. in the ways, &c.--In a desert there are no "ways," nor "high places," with "pastures"; thus the sense is: "They shall have their pastures, not in deserts, but in cultivated and inhabited places." Laying aside the figure, the churches of Christ at the first shall be gathered, not in obscure and unknown regions, but in the most populous parts of the Roman empire, Antioch, Alexandria, Rome, &c. [VITRINGA]. Another sense probably is the right one. Israel, on its way back to the Holy Land, shall not have to turn aside to devious paths in search of necessaries, but shall find them in all places wherever their route lies; so ROSENMULLER. God will supply them as if He should make the grass grow in the trodden ways and on the barren high places.