Isaiah 66:13 Ulasan

The scope of this chapter is much the same as that of the foregoing chapter and many expressions of it are the same; it therefore looks the same way, to the different state of the good and bad among the Jews at their return out of captivity, but that typifying the rejection of the Jews in the days of the Messiah, the conversion of the Gentiles, and the setting up of the gospel-kingdom in the world. The first verse of this chapter is applied by Stephen to the dismantling of the temple by the planting of the Christian church (Act 7:49, Act 7:50), which may serve as a key to the whole chapter. We have here, I. The contempt God puts upon ceremonial services in comparison with moral duties, and an intimation therein of his purpose shortly to put an end to the temple, and sacrifice and reject those that adhered to them (Isa 66:1-4). II. The salvation God will in due time work for his people out of the hands of their oppressors (Isa 66:5), speaking terror to the persecutors (Isa 66:6) and comfort to the persecuted, a speedy and complete deliverance (Isa 66:7-9), a joyful settlement (Isa 66:10, Isa 66:11), the accession of the Gentiles to them, and abundance of satisfaction therein (Isa 66:12-14). III. The terrible vengeance which God will bring upon the enemies of his church and people (Isa 66:15-18). IV. The happy establishment of the church upon large and sure foundations, its constant attendance on God and triumph over its enemies (Isa 66:19-24). And we may well expect that this evangelical prophet, here, in the close of his prophecy, should (as he does) look as far forward as to the latter days, to the last day, to the days of eternity.

INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 66 This chapter treats of the same things as the former, the rejection of the unbelieving Jews, and the regard had to them that did believe; the conversion of that people in the latter day; the calling of the Gentiles, and the happy state of the church in the last times. The causes of the rejection of the Jews were their unworthy notions of God, as if he was confined to the temple of Jerusalem, and to be pleased with external sacrifices, now both at an end under the Gospel dispensation; a better sacrifice being offered, and a more spiritual worship set up everywhere; which notions are considered, Isa 66:1, and because they were set upon their ways and works, and rejected the Gospel of Christ, they are threatened with ruin, Isa 66:3 and the disciples of Christ, whom they excommunicated and persecuted, have a promise of divine appearance for them, while vengeance shall be taken on their enemies, their city and temple, Isa 66:5, nevertheless, in the latter day, there will be a large and sudden conversion of this nation of the Jews, which is signified by the birth of them, which will be matter of great joy to all the true lovers of the interest of Christ, Isa 66:7 and what will add to the prosperity, joy, and comfort of the church of Christ at this time, will be the bringing in of the fulness of the Gentiles, Isa 66:12 at which time the vials of God's wrath will be poured out upon antichrist and his followers, Isa 66:15 and the chapter is concluded with a fresh account of large conversions of men of all nations, and of the union of Jews and Gentiles in one church state, which shall long remain, and be undisturbed by enemies, who will be all slain, and their carcasses looked upon with contempt, Isa 66:18.

As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you,.... Though ordinances are means, and ministers are instruments of comfort, God is the sole efficient cause of it; and very wonderful it is that he should condescend to administer it, since he is an immense and infinite Being, the high and lofty One, possessed of all perfections, and yet deigns to revive the spirit of the humble and contrite; since he is the Maker of heaven and earth, and all things, and those he comforts are dust and ashes; and especially since they have sinned against him, and rendered themselves abominable to him; and moreover, seeing he is so strictly just and righteous, and they also continually guilty of backslidings and revoltings from him: and yet there are many things which confirm that he will comfort them, as he here declares; since he has loved them with an everlasting love, insomuch as to give his Son for them, and to quicken them when dead in sin; and seeing he has taken them into covenant with himself, and is their covenant God and Father; and, besides, has promised to do it, who never fails, and who is able, being God all sufficient. The Targum is, "my Word shall comfort you;'' his essential Word Christ, the consolation of Israel, from whom all true and solid comforts flow; or the written word, read or heard, and especially as applied by the Spirit of God, who is another Comforter, and whose consolations the people of God walk in, nor are they small. Now the manner in which the Lord comforts the saints, especially young converts, is the most kind, tender, and affectionate; as a tender hearted mother comforts her child; when it has fallen and hurt itself, and cries, she takes it up in her arms, hugs it in her bosom, and speaks comfortably to it, to still and quiet it. The children of God often fall into sin, and hurt themselves, their peace and joy, break their bones, and lose the enjoyment of God; when, being sensible of their evils, they roar as David did, and weep bitterly as Peter; then the Lord speaks comfortably unto them, and bids them be of good cheer, for their sins are forgiven them. Or as, when a mother has an afflicted child more so than the rest, her heart yearns most after it, and she does all she can to comfort it. The people of God are an afflicted people, and their afflictions are grievous and painful; and they cry to God in their distress, who pities them, visits them, looks upon their afflictions, grants them his presence, supplies them with his grace, supports with his everlasting arms, makes their bed for them, and comforts them in all their tribulations. Or as, when a child behaves ill, the mother looks shy at it, and carries herself at a distance; which being observed, the child takes it to heart, and then that affects her, and she returns to it, and comforts it: thus, for faults committed, the Lord hides himself from his people, which grieves and troubles them; and then he gathers them to himself with great mercies, and with lovingkindness has mercy on them; and having also chastised them for their sins; and hearing them bemoaning themselves, his heart is moved towards them, and he restores comforts to them, to their mourning souls; see Isa 49:14, it is in the original, "as a man whom his mother comforteth" (a); for mothers have a tender regard to their sons when grown up to men's estate; and all the things above mentioned may befall the people of God, when they are become young men, yea, fathers: and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem; nothing shall hinder comfort when God speaks it, or resolves to give it; not Satan, and all his temptations; the world, and all its afflictions; nor all their sins and transgressions, and the sense they have of them; nor all their unbelief, by reason of which sometimes they refuse to be comforted; but when it is the will of God they should, a tide of comfort flows in, that overpowers all: and this is often done in Jerusalem, in the church, where the Lord grants his presence, and commands his blessings; where his word is preached unto consolation, and the ordinances, those breasts of consolation, are ministered and held forth; though this is said not to the exclusion of other places, where the Lord may meet his people and comfort them, in their own houses, in their closets, in their shops, in rising up and lying down, in going out and coming in. (a) "sicut vir quem mater sua consolatur", Pagninus; "consolabitur eum", Montanus.

A mother draws her children near her; we seek our mother, the church. Whatever is weak and young has an appeal and sweetness and lovableness of its own, just because in its weakness it does stand in need of assistance. But God does not withhold assistance from such an age of life. Just as the male and female parent regard their young tenderly—whether it be horses their colts, or cows their calves, or lions their cubs, or deer their fawn or men and women their children—so, too, does the Father of all draw near to those who seek his aid, giving them a new birth and making them his own adopted children. He recognizes them as his little ones, he loves only them, and he comes to the aid of such as these and defends them. That is why he calls them his children.

(Verse 13, 14) Just as a mother caresses her child, so will I comfort you, and in Jerusalem you will find comfort. Your heart will rejoice and your bones will flourish like grass. The hand of the Lord will be known to his servants, and he will be angry with his enemies. The Septuagint translates 'servants' as 'those who fear' and 'enemies' as 'unbelievers'; the rest is the same. We learn from the example of mothers, who surpass all charity by nourishing their children with love in their arms, the mercy of the Creator towards his creatures. Finally, wanting to show how much He loves and cares for those whom He has created, God asks, 'Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you' (Isaiah 49:15). This sentiment is also expressed in the Gospel when the Lord speaks to Jerusalem, saying, 'How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not' (Matthew 23:37). And in Deuteronomy, it is written: As an eagle protects its nest and desires its young, spreading its wings, it receives them and carries them on its shoulders (Deut. XXXII, 11). Those who have written about the nature of animals say that all beasts, and even beasts of burden, and cattle, and birds have an innate affection for their offspring, but the greatest love is that of eagles, which build their nests in high and inaccessible places to protect their young from the serpent. They also say that among its feathers is found a stone called amethyst, which surpasses all poisons. If this is true, the affection of God towards his creatures is rightly compared to that of the eagles, who protect their offspring with constant vigilance, so that the ancient dragon and serpent, the devil and Satan, may not approach the newly hatched chicks, and so that all the snares of their adversaries may be broken by the name of the stone that is laid in the foundations of Zion. This Jerusalem, in which the sons will find consolation in their mother's embrace and will kneel, is the same Jerusalem of which the Apostle writes: 'But the Jerusalem that is above is free, which is our mother' (Galatians 4:26). Satisfied with the milk of this consolation, he comforted others who needed his words, saying: Blessed be God, the Father of mercies, and the God of all consolation, who comforts us in all our tribulation, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any tribulation, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted by God (1 Corinthians 1:3). And when they have been comforted, it will be said to them: And you will see, and your heart will rejoice, and your bones will flourish like an herb; or according to Symmachus: they will bloom (John 16:22). But they shall indeed see God, which is true joy. Of whom the Lord spoke: Blessed are the clean of heart; for they shall see God (Matthew 5:8). The vision of God is perfect joy, which dwells in a heart full of faith: and the resurrection of the bones follows, of which we have already spoken. If the reader has forgotten these things, let them return to the original explanation. For it is better for them to reread what has been written, than for us to repeat what has been said. And he says, 'Behold, the hand of the Lord will be upon his servants, or upon those who fear him, and he will threaten his enemies, or his unbelievers. But the hand is also understood as power, because God is able to do all things that he promises, according to what Moses, speaking as the voice of God, says to Pharaoh: 'Now I will stretch out my hand and strike you and your people with pestilence, and you shall be cut off from the land' (Exodus 9:15). And again, concerning the same tyrant, Moses says: 'Behold, the hand of the Lord will be upon your livestock' (Exodus 9:3); about which the Psalmist says to God: 'Your hand has destroyed nations and planted them' (Psalm 44:2). Certainly, the hand of the Lord Christ must be understood, about whom we have also read above: My hand has made all these things. The Lord will make this known to his servants and those who fear him, and he will threaten the unbelievers and his enemies, so that he may promise rewards to some and threaten punishment to others. In this, the proper use of words must be considered, that he did not say: He will inflict upon his enemies; but he will threaten, so that, being deterred by the threat, they themselves may pass into the service of the Lord.

Second, as to divine protection: as one whom the mother caresses: you have forgotten the consolation (Heb 12:5).

This chapter treats of the same subject with the foregoing. God, by his prophet, tells the Jews, who valued themselves much on their temple and pompous worship, that the Most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; and that no outward rites of worship, while the worshippers are idolatrous and impure, can please him who looketh at the heart, Isa 66:1-3. This leads to a threatening of vengeance for their guilt, alluding to their making void the law of God by their abominable traditions, their rejection of Christ, persecution of his followers, and consequent destruction by the Romans. But as the Jewish ritual and people shadow forth the system of Christianity and its professors; so, in the prophetical writings, the idolatries of the Jews are frequently put for the idolatries afterwards practiced by those bearing the Christian name. Consequently, if we would have the plenitude of meaning in this section of prophecy, which the very content requires, we must look through the type into the antitype, viz., the very gross idolatries practiced by the members of Antichrist, the pompous heap of human intentions and traditions with which they have encumbered the Christian system, their most dreadful persecution of Christ's spiritual and true worshippers, and the awful judgments which shall overtake them in the great and terrible day of the Lord, Isa 66:4-6. The mighty and sudden increase of the Church of Jesus Christ at the period of Antichrist's fall represented by the very strong figure of Sion being delivered of a man-child before the time of her travail, the meaning of which symbol the prophet immediately subjoins in a series of interrogations for the sake of greater force and emphasis, Isa 66:7-9. Wonderful prosperity and unspeakable blessedness of the world when the posterity of Jacob, with the fullness of the Gentiles, shall be assembled to Messiah's standard, Isa 66:10-14. All the wicked of the earth shall be gathered together to the battle of that great day of God Almighty, and the slain of Jehovah shall be many, Isa 66:15-18. Manner of the future restoration of the Israelites from their several dispersions throughout the habitable globe, Isa 66:19-21. Perpetuity of this new economy of grace to the house of Israel, Isa 66:22. Righteousness shall be universally diffused in the earth; and the memory of those who have transgressed against the Lord shall be had in continual abhorrence, Isa 66:23, Isa 66:24. Thus this great prophet, after tracing the principal events of time, seems at length to have terminated his views in eternity, where all revolutions cease, where the blessedness of the righteous shall be unchangeable as the new heavens, and the misery of the wicked as the fire that shall not be quenched. This chapter is a continuation of the subject of the foregoing. The Jews valued themselves much upon their temple, and the pompous system of services performed in it, which they supposed were to be of perpetual duration; and they assumed great confidence and merit to themselves for their strict observance of all the externals of their religion. And at the very time when the judgments denounced in Isa 65:6 and Isa 65:12 of the preceding chapter were hanging over their heads, they were rebuilding, by Herod's munificence, the temple in a most magnificent manner. God admonishes them, that "the Most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands;" and that a mere external worship, how diligently soever attended, when accompanied with wicked and idolatrous practices in the worshippers, would never be accepted by him. This their hypocrisy is set forth in strong colors, which brings the prophet again to the subject of the former chapter; and he pursues it in a different manner, with more express declaration of the new economy, and of the flourishing state of the Church under it. The increase of the Church is to be sudden and astonishing. They that escape of the Jews, that is, that become converts to the Christian faith, are to be employed in the Divine mission to the Gentiles, and are to act as priests in presenting the Gentiles as an offering to God; see Rom 15:16. And both, now collected into one body, shall be witnesses of the final perdition of the obstinate and irreclaimable. These two chapters manifestly relate to the calling of the Gentiles, the establishment of the Christian dispensation, and the reprobation of the apostate Jews, and their destruction executed by the Romans. - L.

THE HUMBLE COMFORTED, THE UNGODLY CONDEMNED, AT THE LORD'S APPEARING: JERUSALEM MADE A JOY ON EARTH. (Isa. 66:1-24) heaven . . . throne . . . where is . . . house . . . ye build--The same sentiment is expressed, as a precautionary proviso for the majesty of God in deigning to own any earthly temple as His, as if He could be circumscribed by space (Kg1 8:27) in inaugurating the temple of stone; next, as to the temple of the Holy Ghost (Act 7:48-49); lastly here, as to "the tabernacle of God with men" (Isa 2:2-3; Eze 43:4, Eze 43:7; Rev 21:3). where--rather, "what is this house that ye are building, &c.--what place is this for My rest?" [VITRINGA].

mother-- (Isa 49:15). comforteth-- (Isa 40:1-2).

The prophet now looks upon the members of the church as having grown up, as it were, from childhood to maturity: they suck like a child, and are comforted like a grown-up son. "Like a man whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you, and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem." Hitzig says that 'ı̄sh is not well chosen; but how easily could the prophet have written bēn (son), as in Isa 49:15! He writes 'ı̄sh, however, not indeed in the unmeaning sense in which the lxx has taken it, viz., ὡς εἴ τινα μήτηρ παρακαλέσει, but looking upon the people, whom he had previously thought of as children, as standing before him as one man. Israel is now like a man who has escaped from bondage and returned home from a foreign land, full of mournful recollections, the echoing sounds of which entirely disappear in the maternal arms of divine love there in Jerusalem, the beloved home, which was the home of its thoughts even in the strange land.