อิสยาห์ 44:5 วิจารณ์

God, by the prophet, goes on in this chapter, as before, I. To encourage his people with the assurance of great blessings he had in store for them at their return out of captivity, and those typical of much greater which the gospel church, his spiritual Israel, should partake of in the days of the Messiah; and hereby he proves himself to be God alone against all pretenders (Isa 44:1-8). II. To expose the sottishness and amazing folly of idol-makers and idol-worshippers (Isa 44:9-20). III. To ratify and confirm the assurances he had given to his people of those great blessings, and to raise their joyful and believing expectations of them (Isa 44:21-28).

INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 44 In this chapter the Lord comforts his people with the promise of the effusion of his Spirit, and the blessings of his grace upon them; the consequence of which would be fruitfulness in them, and the conversion of others, who should profess themselves the Lord's people, Isa 44:1, he proves his deity in opposition to all false gods from his eternity, omniscience, and foretelling future events, Isa 44:6, exposes the stupidity of idol makers and the worshippers of them, Isa 44:9, makes gracious promises of the remembrance of his people, the remission of their sins, and their redemption by Christ, Isa 44:21, of which redemption from Babylon was a type; and of that assurance is given, from the Lord's creating all things by his power; from his frustrating and infatuating diviners and wise men; from his fulfilling his predictions delivered by his prophets; and from his mentioning by name the instrument of their redemption, Cyrus, Isa 44:24, which makes way for a particular prophecy concerning him in the next chapter.

One shall say, I am the Lord's,.... This expresses the success of the apostles' ministry, not only among the Jews, but more especially among the Gentiles, who were not called by the name of Jacob and Israel; but now should call themselves by those names, as the following clauses show, being called by grace and converted; when they should openly profess their faith in Christ, claim their interest in him, and acknowledge his property in them, and not be ashamed of the name of Christians; and this one, and another, even many should do. The Lord has a people who are his special and peculiar people, his beloved ones, the objects of his delight and pleasure, his chosen and covenant ones, his adopted ones, his treasure and his jewels; and hence he has taken such care of them; he has put them into the hands of Christ for their security; given him to be a Head, Redeemer, and Saviour of them; bestows every blessing of grace on them; will not suffer any to hurt them; and keeps them by his power: and having given them to Christ, they are his people, his portion, his spouse and bride, his children, and the sheep of his hand; hence he became incarnate on their account; laid down his life to save them; sends his Gospel, and along with it his Spirit effectually to call them; and hence all that he has is theirs, and he will keep them, and not lose any of them: and being called by grace, they are the workmanship of the Spirit; his temples in which he dwells, and in whom he is as the earnest and pledge of their eternal glory: and this interest the Lord has in his people may be known by them, so as that they may be able to say, one and another, "I am the Lord's", as many of them have done; see Psa 119:94, they may know they are the Lord's beloved ones, by his drawing them with his love, by the communications of his grace to them, by the communion with himself he indulges them with, and by what he shows unto them, and by the shedding abroad of his love in them; and that they are his chosen ones, by the Gospel coming in power to them, by their effectual calling, by the sanctification of the Spirit, and their faith in Christ Jesus; and that they are his covenant ones, by the application of covenant grace and blessings to them; and that they are his adopted ones, by the Spirit of adoption sent down into their hearts, witnessing it unto them; they may know that they are the redeemed of the Lamb, by their having his Spirit, and by his being formed in their hearts: and they may know that they are the temples of the Holy Ghost, by his own work upon them, and his dwelling in them: and knowing this, they should and will declare, and say they are the Lord's and none other's; that they are not their own, nor Satan's, nor the servants of men, but the Lord's to whom they devote themselves, and whom they desire to serve; and therefore join themselves to his churches, and walk in his ordinances, publicly confessing their faith in him, which is telling all the world whose they are; and this they say with the utmost joy and pleasure, in an exulting, yea, even boasting way and manner. The Targum is, "this shall say, I am of them that fear the Lord:'' and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; reckon himself of the posterity of Jacob, in a spiritual sense; count it an honour to be called a wrestling Jacob, and a prevailing Israelite; so the Targum, "this shall pray in the name of Jacob;'' either in the name of the God of Jacob, the Messiah, or as Jacob did: "and another shall subscribe with his hand to the Lord": shall give his hand and seal to serve the Lord; shall esteem it his high and great privilege to be written among the living in Jerusalem and to have his name registered among the saints, and in their church book. The Targum is, "and this shall offer his oblation before the Lord;'' himself and his sacrifices of prayer and praise: "and surname himself by the name of Israel": shall value himself upon this, that he is an Israelite indeed, and shall choose no other name to be called by than that of a Christian. The Targum is, "in the name of Israel; he shall draw near;'' and worship with them; all these phrases are expressive of a sincere and hearty profession of faith in Christ, and of the Christian religion, in terms borrowed from the people of Israel; see Act 2:41.

(Chapter 44, verse 3 and following) For I will pour water on the thirsty land and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants. They will sprout among the grass, like willows by flowing streams. He will say, 'I am the Lord's,' and another will name himself by the name of Jacob, and another will write on his hand, 'The Lord's,' and adopt the name of Israel. LXX: I will pour water on the thirsty land and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessings on your descendants. And they shall spring up as among the grass, and as willows by the water courses. One shall say, I am the Lord's: and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob: and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the Lord, and surname himself by the name of Israel. Therefore, do not be afraid, Jacob and Israel, for I will pour out water on the thirsty and the dry land, of which it has often been said: 'I will pour out, or I will put my spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing upon your descendants, who will be born again in water and the Holy Spirit in baptism. This promise was also made by the Savior in the Gospel, when he said: 'Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.' And immediately he brings in: Now he said this about the Holy Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive (John 7). He also compares those who are reborn in baptism to evergreen herbs and willows that grow by flowing waters, and he brings forth fruits against nature, which was previously barren, or whose seed, when consumed as food, renders them barren. This is indeed read in the first psalm: And he shall be like a tree planted beside the running waters, which shall yield its fruit in due season, and its leaf shall not fall. Others among the herbs and the growing willows understand a twofold calling: that the people of the nations be in the herbs; in the willows, those who believed from Israel. And at the same time it describes the variety of believers: One will say, 'I am of the Lord', who trusts in the works of righteousness within himself; another will call, it is understood, 'sinners to repentance in the name of Jacob', so that they themselves may uproot vices and sins. Another will write with his own hand, 'I belong to God'. Or as they translated it in the Septuagint, he will write in his hand: I am of God, so that he may boast in the new apprenticeship of the service of Christ. And he will be assimilated in the name of Israel. For not all from Israel, but a great part from the multitude of the Gentiles, will be assimilated in the name of Israel, so that he may receive the Law and the Prophets, and all the graces of the Holy Spirit that were promised to the Israelite people.

The reality comes to confirm the prophecy: it is with total freedom of language that each of the believers calls herself a Christian and derives glory from this name.

We have seen many of the saints themselves latch on to names of certain men. One calls himself Jacob, another Israel, others even call themselves Jeremiah and Isaiah and Daniel. Encouraged by these names, they give themselves over to martyrdom with enthusiasm. “Another will write with his hands, ‘the Lord’s.’ ” This signifies the marking that many have on their hands or arms, or it refers to those marked with the sign of the cross or the name of Christ. The portion or the inheritance of the name of God is implied by the use of the name derived from “Jacob” [i.e., “Israel”]. It signifies that those who have acted in a godly way will not be allowed to go to utter ruin, for he does not want to destroy the whole of Israel but turn them totally toward God. And he provides the way of salvation to those who believe in him.He calls himself Lord and God, Creator and Framer—this is intended to show that they were in error when Israel gave the name of “god” to others who were not gods and forgot the one who was from the beginning the creator of humanity. They were honoring their parents as the ones who were responsible in the beginning and ignoring the Maker, as one of the prophets said: “The son gives glory to the father and the slave to his master,” and “If I am the Father, then where is my glory?” and “If I am the ruler of all, where is the fear of me?” says the Lord. For [the Son] is the Lord who rules the creation by hand, but the Father is the one who made it.

He also sets out the effect of the spiritual gifts: one shall say: I am the Lord's, for whoever confesses himself to be subject to God, shall write, songs, to the Lord, that is, to the honor of the Lord; or another shall write, the Lord's, namely, I am the Lord's, on his hand, carrying the Scripture, which pertains to the worship of God; he shall be made like in the name of Israel, the foreigner in worshiping God; or he will be vigorous like Jacob: you shall call me father and shall not cease to walk after me (Jer 3:19).

Jeremiah reproves the Jews in Egypt for continuing in idolatry after the exemplary judgments indicted by God on their nation for that sin, Jer 44:1-14; and, upon their refusing to reform, denounces destruction to them, and to that kingdom wherein they sought protection, vv. 15-30.

Shall call himself "Shall be called" - Passive, יקרא yikkare; κληθησεται, Symmachus. Another shall subscribe with his hand unto the Lord "This shall inscribe his hand to Jehovah" - Και ἑτερος επιγραψει χειρι (χειρα, Ag., Sym.) αυτου, Του Θεου ειμι· "And another shall write upon his hand, I belong to God." - Sept. They seem to have read here, as before, ליהוה אני laihovah ani, I belong to Jehovah. But the repetition of the same phrase without any variation is not elegant. However, they seem to have understood it rightly, as an allusion to the marks, which were made by punctures rendered indelible, by fire or by staining, upon the hand or some other part of the body, signifying the state or character of the person, and to whom he belonged. The slave was marked with the name of his master, the soldier, of his commander; the idolater, with the name or ensign of his god: Στιγματα επιγραφομενα δια των στρατευομενων εν ταις χερσιν· "Punctural inscriptions made by the soldiers on their hands." Aetius apud Turnebum Advers. Isa 24:12. Victuris in cute punctis milites scripti et matriculis inserti jurare solent. "The soldiers having indelible inscriptions on their skin, and inserted in the muster-rolls, are accustomed to make oath." Vigetius, Isa 2:6. And the Christians seem to have imitated this practice, by what Procopius says on this place of Isaiah: Το δε ΤΗ ΧΕΙΡΙ, δια το στιζειν ισως πολλους επι καρπων, η βραχιονων, η του σταυρου σημειον, η την Χριστου προσηγοριαν. "Because many marked their wrists, or their arms, with the sign of the cross, or with the name of Christ." See Rev 20:4; Spencer, De Leg. Hebr. lib. ii., cap. 20.

CONTINUATION OF THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER. (Isa. 44:1-28) Yet--Though thou hast sinned, yet hear God's gracious promise as to thy deliverance. chosen-- (Isa 41:8).

The third clause answers in parallelism to the first, the fourth to the second. I am the Lord's-- (Jer 50:5; Co1 6:19-20; Co2 8:5). call himself by the name of Jacob--The Gentiles (as the result of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Israel, the Lord's "seed," first) shall join themselves to the children of Jacob, in order to worship their God (compare Isa 43:7; Psa 49:11). Or, "calls," that is, invokes and celebrates the name of Jacob, attaches himself to his nation and religion [MAURER], (Psa 24:6). subscribe . . . hand unto . . . Lord--in solemn and public covenant, pledging himself to God's service (compare Neh 9:38), before "witnesses" (Heb 12:1), after the manner of a civil contract (Jer 32:10, Jer 32:12, Jer 32:44). So the Christian in the sacraments [BARNES]. Literally, "shall fill his hand with letters (Exo 32:15; Eze 2:10) in honor of Jehovah"; or "shall write upon his hand, I am Jehovah's" (compare Isa 49:16; Rev 13:16); alluding to the puncture with ink on the hand, whereby a soldier marked himself as bound to his commander; and whereby the Christians used to mark themselves with the name of Christ [LOWTH]. The former view is simpler. surname himself . . . Israel--MAURER and GESENIUS interpret this as the Hebrew sanctions, answering to their rendering of the parallel second clause, "calls blandly (speaks in honorable terms of) the name of Israel." Retaining English Version, we must, from the Hebrew understand it thus, "Surname himself by the honorable name of Israel" (Isa 45:4).

When Jehovah has thus acknowledged His people once more, the heathen, to whose giddūphı̄m (blasphemies) Israel has hitherto been given up, will count it the greatest honour to belong to Jehovah and His people. "One will say, I belong to Jehovah; and a second will solemnly name the name of Jacob; and a third will inscribe himself to Jehovah, and name the name of Israel with honour." The threefold zeh refers to the heathen, as in Psa 87:4-5. One will declare himself to belong to Jehovah; another will call with the name of Jacob, i.e., (according to the analogy of the phrase ה בשׁם קרא) make it the medium and object of solemn exclamation; a third will write with his hand (ידו, an acc. of more precise definition, like חמה in Isa 42:25, and זביחך in Isa 43:23), "To Jehovah," thereby attesting that he desires to belong to Jehovah, and Jehovah alone. This is the explanation given by Gesenius, Hahn, and others; whereas Hitzig and Knobel follow the lxx in the rendering, "he will write upon his hand '‛layehōvâh,' i.e., mark the name of Jehovah upon it." But apart from the fact that kâthabh, with an accusative of the writing materials, would be unprecedented (the construction required would be על־ידו), this view is overthrown by the fact that tatooing was prohibited by the Israelitish law (Lev 19:28; compare the mark of the beast in Rev 13:16). בשׁם קרא is interchanged with בסם כּנּה, to surname, or entitle (the Syriac and Arabic are the same; compare the Arabic kunye, the name given to a man as the father of such and such a person, e.g., Abu-Muhammed, rhetorically called metonymy). The name Israel becomes a name or title of honour among the heathen. This concludes the fourth prophecy, which opens out into three distinct fields. With ועתּה in Isa 44:1 it began to approach the close, just as the third did in Isa 43:1 -a well-rounded whole, which leaves nothing wanting.