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ISAIAH 16 COMMENTARY
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
1 Send lambs as tribute
to the ruler of the land,
from Sela, across the desert,
to the mount of Daughter Zion.
1.BARNES, Send ye the lamb - Lowth renders this, I will send
forth the son from the ruler of the land; meaning, as he supposes,
that under the Assyrian invasion, even the young prince of Moab
would be obliged to flee for his life through the desert, that he
might escape to Judea; and that thus God says that he would send
him. The only authority for this, however,
is, that the Septuagint reads the word send in the future tense
( apostelo) instead of
the imperative; and that the Syraic reads bar instead of kar, a
lamb. But assuredly this is too slight an authority for making an
alteration in the Hebrew text. This is one of the many instances in
which Lowth has ventured to suggest a change in the text of Isaiah
without
sufficient authority. The Septuagint reads this: I will send
reptiles ( herpeta) upon the land. Is not the mountain of the
daughter of Zion a desolate rock? The Chaldee renders it, Bear ye
tribute to the Messiah, the anointed of Israel, who is powerful
over you who were in the desert, to Mount Zion. And this,
understanding by the Messiah the anointed king of Israel, is
probably the true rendering.
The word lamb ( kar) denotes, properly, a pasture lamb, a fat
lamb, and is usually applied to the lamb which was slain in
sacrifice. Here it probably means a lamb, or lambs collectively, as
a tribute, or acknowledgment of subjection to Judah. Lambs were
used in the daily sacrifice in the temple, and in the other
sacrifices of the Jews. Large numbers of them would, therefore, be
needed, and it is not improbable that the tribute of the nations
subject to them was often required to be paid in animals for
burnt-offering. Perhaps there might have been this additional
reason for that - that the sending of such animals would be a sort
of incidental acknowledgment of the truth of the Jewish religion,
and an offering to the God of the Hebrews. At all events, the word
here seems to be one that designates tribute; and the counsel of
the prophet is, that they should send their tribute to the
Jews.
To the ruler of the land - To the king of Judah. This is proved
by the addition at the close of the verse, unto the mount of the
daughter o Zion. It is evident from 2Sa_8:2, that David subdued the
Moabites, and laid them under tribute, so that the Moabites became
Davids servants, and brought gifts. That lambs were the specific
kind of tribute which the Moabites were to render to the Jews as a
token of their subjection, is clearly proved in 2Ki_3:4 : And
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Mesha, king of Moab, was a sheep-master, and rendered unto the
king of Israel an hundred thousand rams, with the wool. This was in
the time of Ahab. But the Moabites after his death revolted from
them, and rebelled 2Ki_4:5. It is probable that as this tribute was
laid by David before the separation of the kingdoms of Judah and
Israel, and as the kings of Judah claimed to be the true successors
of David and Solomon, they demanded that the tribute should be
rendered to them, and not to the kings of Israel, and this is the
claim which Isaiah enforces in the passage before us. The command
of the prophet is to regain the lost favor of Israel by the payment
of the tribute that was due. The territory of Moab was in early
times, and is still, rich in flocks of sheep. Seetzen made his
journey with some inhabitants of Hebron and Jerusalem who had
purchased sheep in that region. Lambs and sheep were often demanded
in tribute. The Persians received fifty thousand sheep as a tribute
annually from the Cappadocians, and one hundred thousand from the
Medes (Strabo, ii. 362).
From Sela in the wilderness - The word Sela ( sela') means a
rock; and by it here there can be no doubt that there is intended
the city of that name which was the capital of Arabia Petrea. The
city was situated within the bounds of Arabia or Idumea, but was
probably at this time in the possession of the Moabites. It was,
therefore, the remotest part of their territory, and the sense may
be, Send tribute even from the remotest pat of your land; or it may
be, that the region around that city was particularly favorable to
pasturage, and for keeping flocks. To this place they had fled with
their flocks on the invasion from the north (see the note at
Isa_15:7). Vitringa says that that desert around Petra was regarded
as a vast common, on which the Moabites and Arabians promiscuously
fed their flocks. The situation of the city of
Sela, or ( petra) Petra, meaning the same as Sela, a rock, was
for a long time unknown, but it has lately been discovered.
It lies about a journey of a day and a ball southeast of the
southern extremity of the Dead Sea. It derived its name from the
fact that it was situated in a vast hollow in a rocky mountain, and
consisted almost entirely of dwellings hewn out of the rock. It was
the capital of the Edomites 2Ki_19:7; but might have been at this
time in the possession of the Moabites. Strabo describes it as the
capital of the Nabatheans, and as situated in a vale well watered,
but encompassed by insurmountable rocks (xvi. 4), at a distance of
three or four days journey from Jericho. Diodorus (19, 55) mentions
it as a place of trade, with caves for dwellings, and strongly
fortified by nature. Pliny, in the first century, says, The
Nabatheans inhabit the city called Petra, in a valley less than two
(Roman) miles in amplitude, surrounded by inaccessible mountains,
with a stream flowing through it (Nat. Hist. vi. 28).
Adrian, the successor of Trajan, granted important privileges to
that city, which led the inhabitants to give his name to it upon
coins. Several of these are still extant. In the fourth century,
Petra is several times mentioned by Eusebius and Jerome, and in the
fifth and sixth centuries appears as the metropolitan see of the
Third Palestine (see the article Petra in Relands Palestine). From
that time, Petra disappeared from the pages of history, and the
metropolitan see was transferred to Rabbah. In what way Petra was
destroyed is unknown. Whether it was by the Mahometan conquerors,
or whether by the incursions of the hordes of the desert, it is
impossible now to ascertain. All Arabian writers of that period are
silent as to Petra. The name became changed to that which it bears
at present - Wady Musa, and it was not until the travels of
Seetzen, in 1807, that it attracted the attention of the world.
During his excursion from Hebron to the hill Madurah, his Arab
guide described the place, exclaiming, Ah! how I weep when I behold
the ruins of Wady Musa. Seetzen did not visit it, but Burckhardt
passed a short time there, and described it. Since his time it has
been repeatedly visited (see Robinsons Bib. Researches, vol. ii.
pp. 573-580).
This city was formerly celebrated as a place of great commercial
importance, from its central position and its being so securely
defended. Dr. Vincent (in his Commerce of the Ancients, vol.
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xi. p. 263, quoted in Labordes Journey to Arabia Petrea, p. 17)
describes Petra as the capital of Edom or Sin, the Idumea or Arabia
Petrea of the Greeks, the Nabatea considered both by geographers,
historians, and poets, as the source of all the precious
commodities of the East. The caravans in all ages, from Minea in
the interior of Arabia, and from Gerka on the gulf of Persia, from
Hadramont on the ocean, and some even from Sabea in Yemen, appear
to have pointed to Petra as a common center; and from Petra the
trade seems to have branched out into every direction - to Egypt,
Palestine, and Syria, through Arsinoe, Gaza, Tyre, Jerusalem,
Damascus, and a variety of intermediate roads that all terminated
on the Mediterranean. Strabo relates, that the merchandise of India
and Arabia was transported on camels from Leuke Kome to Petra, and
thence, to Rhinocolura and other places (xvi. 4, 18, 23, 24).
Under the Romans the trade was still more prosperous. The
country was rendered more accessible, and the passage of merchants
facilitated by military ways, and by the establishment of military
posts to keep in check the predatory hordes of the neighboring
deserts. One great road, of which traces still remain, went from
Petra to Damascus; another went off from this road west of the Dead
Sea to Jerusalem, Askelon, and other parts of the Mediterranean
(Laborde, p. 213; Burckhardt, 374, 419). At a period subsequent to
the Christian era there always reigned at Petra, according to
Strabo, a king of the royal lineage, with whom a prince was
associated in the government (Strabo, p. 779). The very situation
of this city, once so celebrated, as has been remarked above, was
long unknown. Burckhardt, under the assumed name of Sheikh Ibrahim,
in the year 1811, made an attempt to reach Petra under the pretext
that he had made a vow to sacrifice a goat in honor of Aaron on the
summit of Mount Hor near to Petra. He was permitted to enter the
city, and to remain there a short time, and to look upon the
wonders of that remarkable place, but was permitted to make no
notes or drawings on the spot.
His object was supposed to be to obtain treasures, which the
Arabs believe to have been deposited there in great abundance, as
all who visit the ruins of ancient cities and towns in that region
are regarded as having come there solely for that purpose. If
assured that they have no such design, and if the Arabs are
reminded that they have no means to remove them, it is replied
that, although they may not remove them in their presence, yet when
they return to their own land, they will have the power of
commanding the treasures to be conveyed to them, and it will be
done by magic. (Burckhardts Travels in Syria, pp. 428, 429.)
Burckhardts description of this city, as it is brief, may be
here given verbatim: Two long days journey northeast from Akaba (a
town at the extremity of the Elanitic branch of the Red Sea, near
the site of the ancient Ezion-geber), is a brook called Wady Musa,
and a valley of the same name. This place is very remarkable for
its antiquities, and the remains of an ancient city, which I take
to be Petra, the capital of Arabia Petrea, a place which, so far as
I know, no European traveler has ever explored. In the red
sandstone of which the vale consists, there are found more than two
hundred and fifty sepulchres, which are entirely hewn out of the
rock, generally with architectural ornaments in the Grecian style.
There is found there a mausoleum in the form of a temple (obviously
the same which Legh and Laborde call the temple of victory) on a
colossal scale, which is likewise hewn out of the rock, with all
its apartments, portico, peristylum, etc. It is an extremely fine
monument of Grecian architecture, and in a fine state of
preservation. In the same place there are yet other mausoleums with
obelisks, apparently in the Egyptian style; a whole amphitheater
hewn out of the solid rock, and the remains of a palace and many
temples.
Mr. Bankes, in company of Mr. Legh, and Captains Irby and
Mangles, have the merit of being the first persons who, as
Europeans, succeeded to any extent in making researches in Petra.
Captains Irby and Mangles spent two days among its temples, tombs,
and ruins, and have furnished a description of what they saw. But
the most full and satisfactory investigation which has been made of
these ruins, was made by M. de Laborde, who visited the city in
1829, and was permitted to remain there eight days, and to examine
it at leisure. An account of his journey,
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with splendid plates, was published in Paris in 1830, and a
translation in London 1836. To this interesting account the reader
must be referred. It can only be remarked here, that Petra, or
Sela, was a city entirely encompassed with lofty rocks, except in a
single place, where was a deep ravine between the rocks which
constituted the principal entrance.
On the east and west it was enclosed with lofty rocks, of from
three to five hundred feet in height; on the north and south the
ascent was gradual from the city to the adjacent hills. The
ordinary entrance was through a deep ravine, which has been, until
lately, supposed to have been the only way of access to the city.
This ravine approaches it from the east, and is about a mile in
length. In the narrowest part it is twelve feet in width, and the
rocks are on each side about three hundred feet in height. On the
northern side, there are tombs excavated in the rocks nearly the
entire distance. The stream which watered Petra runs along in the
bottom of the ravine, going through the city, and descending
through a ravine to the west (see Robinsons Bib. Researches, vol.
ii. 514, 538.) The city is wholly uninhabited, except when the
wandering Arab makes use of an excavated tomb or palace in which to
pass the night, or a caravan pauses there.
The rock which encompasses it is a soft freestone. The tombs,
with which almost the entire city was encompassed, are cut in the
solid rock, and are adorned in the various modes of Grecian and
Egyptian architecture. The surface of the solid rock was first made
smooth, and then a plan of the tomb or temple was drawn on the
smoothed surface, and the workmen began at the top and cut the
various pillars, entablatures, and capitals. The tomb was then
excavated from the rock, and was usually entered by a single door.
Burckhardt counted two hundred and fifty of these tombs, and
Laborde has described minutely a large number of them. For a
description of these splendid monuments, the reader must be
referred to the work of Laborde, pp. 152-193. Lend. Ed.
That this is the Sela referred to here there can be no doubt;
and the discovery of this place is only one of the instances out of
many, in which the researches of oriental travelers contribute to
throw light on the geography of the Scriptures, or otherwise
illustrate them. For a description of this city, see Stephens
Incidents of Travel in Egypt, Arabia Petrea, and the Holy land,
vol. ii. ch. iv. p. 65ff; the work of Laborde referred to above;
and Robinsons Bib. Researches, vol. ii. pp. 573-580, 653-659.
To the mount of the daughter of Zion - To Mount Zion; that is,
to Jerusalem (note, Isa_1:8). The meaning of this verse, therefore,
is, Pay the accustomed tribute to the Jews. Continue to seek their
protection, and acknowledge your subjection to them, and you shall
be safe. They will yield you protection, and these threatened
judgments will not come upon you. But refuse, or withhold this, and
you will be overthrown.
2. CLARKE, Send ye the lamb, etc. I will send forth the son,
etc. - Both the reading and meaning of this verse are still more
doubtful than those of the preceding. The
Septuagint and Syriac read eshlach, I will send, in the first
person singular, future tense:
the Vulgate and Talmud Babylon, read shelach, send, singular
imperative: some read
shilchu, send ye forth, or shalechu, they send forth. The
Syriac, for car, a lamb, reads bar, a son, which is confirmed by
five MSS. of Kennicott and De Rossi. The two first verses describe
the distress of Moab on the Assyrian invasion in which even the son
of the prince of the country is represented as forced to flee for
his life through the desert, that he may escape to Judea; and the
young women are driven forth like young birds cast out of the nest,
and endeavoring to wade through the fords of the river Arnon.
Perhaps there is not so much difficulty in this verse as
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appears at first view. Send the lamb to the ruler of the land,
may receive light from 2Ki_3:4, 2Ki_3:5 : And Mesha, king of Moab,
was a sheepmaster, and rendered unto the king of Israel one hundred
thousand lambs with their wool, and one hundred thousand rams: but
when Ahab was dead, the king of Moab rebelled against Israel. Now
the prophet exhorts them to begin paying the tribute as formerly,
that their punishment might be averted or mitigated.
3. GILL, Send ye the lamb to the ruler of the land,.... Or
tribute, as the Targum rightly interprets it. The Moabites, being
conquered by David, paid tribute to him, 2Sa_8:2 and when the
kingdom was divided in Rehoboam's time, the tribute was paid to the
kings of Israel, which continued till the times of Ahab, when the
Moabites rebelled, and refused to pay it, 2Ki_3:4 and this tribute,
as appears from the passage now referred to, was paid in lambs and
rams; which now they are bid to pay to the king of Judah, David's
lawful heir and successor in his kingdom; who is supposed to be
meant by the ruler of the land, that is, of the land of Judah,
whose reigning king at this time was Hezekiah; but rather by "the
ruler of the land" is meant the king of Moab, for the words may be
rendered, more agreeably to the language and the accents, "send ye
the lamb" (or lambs, the singular for the plural), "O ruler of the
land" (t); though others, "send ye the lamb of the ruler of the
land" (u); that is either, O king of Moab send the tribute that is
due; or ye people of the land send the tribute which your ruler
owes to the king of Judah; so Jarchi understands it of the king of
Moab: some indeed expound the ruler of the land of God himself, who
is the Governor of the world; and take the sense to be, that the
Moabites are bid to send a lamb, or lambs, for sacrifice, to the
God of the whole earth, in order to appease him, and atone for
their sins; which is said either seriously, as some think, this
being to answer a good purpose, or ironically, as other's, it being
now too late; but the sense given is the best: in the Talmud (w) it
is applied to Nebuchadnezzar, ruler of the land, who came to the
mount of the daughter of Zion, by the way of rocks and mountains.
The Targum applies it to the Messiah, paraphrasing it thus, "they
shall be bringing tributes to the Christ of Israel, who is strong
over them.'' Jerom interprets it of Christ, the Lamb of God, the
ruler of the world, or who was to be sacrificed to the ruler of the
world; who descended from Ruth, the Moabitess, who he supposes is
meant by the rock of the wilderness, as he renders the next clause:
from Sela to the wilderness, unto the mount the daughter of Zion:
according to Kimchi, and others, Sela was the chief city of the
kingdom of Moab. The word signifies a rock; it is the same with
Petra (x), the chief city of Arabia, and from whence Arabia Petraea
had its name. Some take it to be Selah, the chief city of Edom,
afterwards called Joktheel, 2Ki_14:7 it was a frontier city, and
lay upon the borders of Moab and Edom to the south; as the
wilderness of Jordan was on the border of Moab to the north, and is
thought to be here meant; or, according to Vitringa, the plains of
Jericho, the same with the wilderness of Judea, where John the
Baptist came preaching; which lay in the way from Sela or Petra,
the chief city in Moab, unto Jerusalem. Strabo (y) says of Petra,
the metropolis of the Nabataeans, that it lies in a plain,
surrounded with rocks and precipices, and within it fountains and
gardens, and without it a large country, for the most part desert,
especially towards Judea, and from hence it is a journey of three
or four days to Jericho; and so the sense is, send the lambs, or
the tribute, from Sela or Petra, the chief city of Moab; send them,
I say, to the wilderness of Judea, or by the way of that, even to
Mount Zion or Jerusalem, the metropolis of Judea, and the seat of
the king of it.
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4. HENRY, God has made it to appear that he delights not in the
ruin of sinners by telling them what they may do to prevent the
ruin; so he does here to Moab.
I. He advises them to be just to the house of David, and to pay
the tribute they had formerly
covenanted to pay to the kings of his line (Isa_16:1): Send you
the lamb to the ruler of the land.
David made the Moabites tributaries to him, 2Sa_8:2. They became
his servants, and brought
gifts. Afterwards they paid their tribute to the kings of Israel
(2Ki_3:4), and paid it in lambs.
Now the prophet requires them to pay it to Hezekiah. Let it be
raised and levied from all parts of
the country, from Selah, a frontier city of Moab on the one
side, to the wilderness, a boundary of
the kingdom on the other side: and let it be sent, where it
should be sent, to the mount of the
daughter of Zion, the city of David. Some take it as an advice
to send a lamb for a sacrifice to
God, the ruler of the earth (so it may be read), the Lord of the
whole earth, ruler of all lands, the
land of Moab as well as the land of Israel, Send it to the
temple built on Mount Zion. And some
think it is in this sense spoken ironically, upbraiding the
Moabites with their folly in delaying to
repent and make their peace with God. Now you would be glad to
send a lamb to Mount Zion,
to make the God of Israel your friend; but it is too late: the
decree has gone forth, the
consumption is determined, and the daughters of Moab shall be
cast out as a wandering bird,
Isa_16:2. I rather take it as good advice seriously given, like
that of Daniel to Nebuchadnezzar
when he was reading him his doom, Dan_4:27. Break off thy sins
by righteousness, if it may be
a lengthening of thy tranquillity. And it is applicable to the
great gospel duty of submission to
Christ, as the ruler of the land, and our ruler: Send him the
lamb, the best you have, yourselves
a living sacrifice. When you come to God, the great ruler, come
in the name of the Lamb, the
Lamb of God. For else it shall be (so we may read it) that, as a
wandering bird cast out of the
nest, so shall the daughters of Moab be. If you will not pay
your quit-rent, your just tribute to
the king of Judah, you shall be turned out of your houses: The
daughters of Moab (the country
villages, or the women of your country) shall flutter about the
fords of Arnon, attempting that
way to make their escape to some other land, like a wandering
bird thrown out of the nest half-
fledged. Those that will not submit to Christ, nor be gathered
under the shadow of his wings,
shall be as a bird that wanders from her nest, that shall either
be snatched up by the next bird
of prey or shall wander endlessly in continual frights. Those
that will not yield to the fear of God
shall be made to yield to the fear of every thing else.
5. JAMISON, Isa_16:1-14. Continuation of the prophecy as to
Moab.
lamb advice of the prophet to the Moabites who had fled
southwards to Idumea, to send to the king of Judah the tribute of
lambs, which they had formerly paid to Israel, but which they had
given up (2Ki_3:4, 2Ki_3:5). David probably imposed this tribute
before the severance of
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Judah and Israel (2Sa_8:2). Therefore Moab is recommended to
gain the favor and protection of Judah, by paying it to the Jewish
king. Type of the need of submitting to Messiah (Psa_2:10-12;
Rom_12:1).
from Sela to rather, from Petra through (literally, towards) the
wilderness [Maurer].
Sela means a rock, Petra in Greek; the capital of Idumea and
Arabia-Petraea; the dwellings are mostly hewn out of the rock. The
country around was a vast common (wilderness) or open pasturage, to
which the Moabites had fled on the invasion from the west
(Isa_15:7).
ruler of the land namely, of Idumea, that is, the king of Judah;
Amaziah had become master of Idumea and Sela (2Ki_14:7).
6. K&D, But just because this lion is Judah and its
government, the summons goes forth to the Moabites, who have fled
to Edom, and even to Sela, i.e., Petra (Wady Musa), near Mount Hor
in Arabia Petraea, to which it gave its name, to turn for
protection to Jerusalem. Send a land-ruler's tribute of lambs from
Sela desert-wards to the mountain of the daughter of Zion. This v.
is like a long-drawn trumpet-blast. The prophecy against Moab takes
the same turn here as in Isa_14:32; Isa_18:7; Isa_19:16.,
Isa_23:18. The judgment first of all produces slavish fear; and
this is afterwards refined into loving attachment. Submission to
the house of David is Moab's only deliverance. This is what the
prophet, weeping with those that weep, calls out to them in such
long-drawn, vehement, and urgent tones, even into the farthest
hiding-place in which they have concealed themselves, viz., the
rocky city of the Edomites. The tribute of lambs
which was due to the ruling prince is called briefly
car)moshel-'eretz. This tribute, which the holders of the
pasture-land so rich in flocks have hitherto sent to Samaria
(2Ki_3:4), they are now to send to Jerusalem, the mountain of the
daughter of Zion (as in Isa_10:32, compared with Isa_18:7), the way
to which lay through the desert, i.e., first of all in a diagonal
direction through the Arabah, which stretched downwards to
Aelath.
7. BI, A message to Moab
The fugitives are supposed to have found a temporary home in
Edom. The verse may be spoken by the prophet, or (as Prof. Cheyne
suggests) it may proceed from the Moabite chiefs themselves,
exhorting one another to take this step. (Prof. S. R. Driver, D.
D.)
Tribute demanded of Moab
A very terrible humiliation had already been inflicted on Moab
in the reign of Jehoram, King of Israel (2Ki_3:4; 2Ki_3:25). During
Ahabs reign, Moab had been compelled to pay a very heavy annual
tribute, even 100,000 lambs and 100,000 rams. Refusal to pay led to
war from time to time; war resulting, however, invariably in the
defeat of the Moabites. In such circumstances the prophet urges
upon Moab the wisdom of paying this tribute without trouble or
demur. (Buchanan Blake, B. D.)
Gospel submission
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It is applicable to the great Gospel duty of submission to
Christ, as the Ruler of the land and our Ruler.
1. Send Him the lamb, the best you have, yourselves a living
sacrifice.
2. When you come to God, the great Ruler, come in the name of
the Lamb, the Lamb of God.
3. Those that will not submit to Christ, nor be gathered unto
the shadow of His wings, shall be as a bird that wanders from her
nest (Isa_16:2), that shall either be snatched up by the next bird
of prey, or shall wander endlessly in continual frights. Those that
will not yield to the fear of God shall be made to yield to the
fear of everything else. (M. Henry.)
8. PULPIT, THE BURDEN OF MOAB (CONTINUED). This portion of the
"burden" is divided into three
sections. In section 1 (from Isa_16:1 to the end of Isa_16:5) an
offer of mercy is made to Moab on certain
conditions, viz. that she return to her allegiance to the house
of David, and show kindness to fugitive
Israelites. In section 2 (Isa_16:6-12) she is supposed to have
rejected this offer, and is threatened (as
in Isa_15:1-9.) with severe punishment. In section 3 (which
consists of Isa_16:13 and Isa_16:14) the time
is fixed for the main visitation to fall upon her.
Isa_16:1
Send ye the lamb to the ruler of the land; rather, the lamb of
the ruler of the landthe lamb (or
lambs, kar being used collectively) due to the ruler as a mark
of subjection. In the time of Ahab Mesha
had paid a tribute to Israel of a hundred thousand lambs and a
hundred thousand rams annually
(2Ki_3:4). The prophet recommends that this, or some similar,
tribute should now be paid to the King of
Judah instead. Israel having been absorbed into Assyria. From
Sela. Either Moab is regarded as having
taken refuge in Edom, and is therefore bidden to send her
tribute from the Edomite capital, Sela
(equivalent to "Petra"), or "Sela," here is not a proper name,
but a collective used to designate the rocky
parts of Moab, to which she had betaken herself (as in
Jer_48:28). The latter supposition is, on the whole,
the more probable. To the wilderness; literally,
wildernesswards; i.e. by the way of the wilderness. The
enemy being regarded as in possession of the northern end of the
Dead Sea, Moab is recommended to
send her tribute round the southern end, and so by way of "the
wilderness of Judah," to Jerusalem.
9. CALVIN, 1.Send ye a lamb. Here the Prophet scoffs at the
Moabites for not acknowledging God at
the proper time, but recklessly waiting for the stroke of his
hand, till they were completely destroyed. It is,
therefore, a condemnation of late repentance, when men cannot be
brought to obedience by any
warnings, and continue in obstinate opposition to God. Where the
disease is incurable, an exhortation of
this kind is appropriate; and this ought to be carefully
observed, for both Jews and Christians misinterpret
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this passage.
Jerome explains it as referring to Christ, because he drew his
birth from the Moabites, (Rut_1:4; Mat_1:5,)
from whom Ruth was descended; and that opinion has been adopted
by almost all Christians; as if the
Prophet had said, Lord, though a judgment so severe as this
awaits the Moabites, still thou wilt not
utterly destroy them; for they will send thee a Lamb, the ruler
of the world. But that interpretation, being
destitute of plausibility, need not be refuted.
On the other hand, the Jews think that these words were spoken
because, while the Jews were in a
depressed condition, the Moabites ceased to pay the tribute
which they owed them, but that, after having
prophesied about the restoration of the kingdom of Judah, Isaiah
likewise added an exhortation to remind
them to acknowledge their king. They even go so far as to say
that it serves the purpose of a royal edict,
taking them to task for their disloyalty, the tribute which you
owe. But we nowhere read that the
Moabites were subjects or tributaries to the Jews, and there is
no probability in the conjecture. Nor does
the passage which they quote (2Kg_3:5) give them any support;
for that passage relates to the king of
Israel, and expressly mentions Ahab and Samaria, who cherished,
as we are aware, the utmost hatred
against the Jews.
I therefore adhere to the interpretation which I first noticed,
as the true and natural interpretation; for the
design of the Prophet is to condemn the Moabites for not having
repented in due season, and to tell them
that they will now in vain do what they might easily have done
formerly, and with great advantage to
themselves. We ought, therefore, to view it as spoken
ironically, ( ,) Send; as if he had said that
there is no hope of pardon, that they will send in vain. When
the wicked are warned, they indolently
disregard all exhortation; when they are punished, they gaze
around them with distressful looks, seeking
assistance in every direction, and trying every method of
relief, but unsuccessfully, for they gain no
advantage. Isaiah, therefore, reproaches them for obstinacy and
rebellion, and shows that there will be no
time for repentance, when they meet with the destruction which
they deserve.
To the ruler of the world. The opinion of the Jews, that this
denotes Hezekiah, is at variance with all
reason; for (eretz) does not here denote a particular country,
but rather the whole world, of which he
speaks in general terms. The appellation Ruler must therefore be
viewed as referring to God himself.
By a lamb, he means what was to be offered in sacrifice; for
even the Gentiles acknowledged that they
worshipped God when they offered sacrifices.
From the rock (249) of the desert. He gives the name of the rock
of the desert to the city, which is
supposed to have been the chief city of the Moabites; (250)
though it is possible that he intended to
-
include the whole of the country, and thus a part will be taken
for the whole.
To the mountain of the daughter of Zion; that is, to God
authorized temple, in which sacrifices were
offered according to the injunction of the Law. (Deu_12:5;
2Ch_7:12.) This is a remarkable passage
against obstinate men, who set aside all instruction, and
fearlessly despise God, till they are visited by his
judgments.
(249) From Sela, (or, Petra.) Eng. Ver.
FT241 Rock, also called Sela, (Isa_16:1,) and Joktheel,
(2Kg_14:7.) The capital of Idumea, and one of
the most remarkable cities of the ancient world. For more than a
thousand years this city remained
unknown and unvisited, till Burckhardt discovered it in 1812. It
was afterwards visited, with some difficulty,
by Messrs. Legh, Banks, Captains Irby and Mangles, as well as by
M. Linant and M. Laborde. Those
who have not access to the details of those enterprizing
researches, or who wish to see it ably stated and
argued, that present condition of Petra furnishes a remarkable
fulfillment of Scripture prophecy, will do
well to read the article Petra in Dr. Eadie Biblical
Cyclopaedia, from which the above extracts are taken;
an article which draws largely both from the narratives of
travelers and from the inspired writers, and
compresses within moderate limits a large amount of information.
Ed
FT242 As a wandering bird. Eng. Ver.
FT243 Take (Heb. Bring) counsel. Eng. Ver.
FT244 a shadow for thee at noon, to throw darkness over thee, as
in the night, that by means of it thou
mayest be concealed from the face of thy enemies. Jarchi
FT245 For the extortioner (Heb. wringer) is at an end. Eng.
Ver.
FT246 Until the extortioner (ki) answers here to the Latin
adverb, usquedum . Tayl. Concord. quoted
by Stock.
FT247 And in mercy shall the throne be established, (or,
prepared.) Eng. Ver.
FT248 His wrath. Eng. Ver. In the author version of this
chapter, the rendering is, his insolence; but in
-
his margin he puts indignation. Lowth and Stock make it his
anger. Ed
FT249 The rendering of the Septuagint is, , Not so thy
divination, not
so. Ed
FT250 (lo ken,) non rectum , the frivolous predictions of his
diviners, on which no wise man would
place dependence. Rosenmuller
FT251 Therefore shall Moab howl for Moab. Eng. Ver.
FT252 Shall ye mourn, (or, mutter,) surely they are stricken
Eng. Ver. Moan even ye
who yourselves are smitten. Stock
FT253 For the fields of Heshbon languish. Eng. Ver.
FT254 ought to be known that Heshbon was a place of fields, and
Sibmah was a place of vineyards. If
you object, that all these cities were on the other side of
Jordan, and at what time therefore did they fall
under the hand (or power) of the Moabites? we reply. When
Sennacherib carried the Reubenites and
Gadites into captivity, the Moabites, who were their neighbors,
came and dwelt in those cities. Jarchi
FT255 The lords of the heathen have trodden down the principal
plants thereof. Eng. Ver.
FT256 They are come even unto Jazer. Eng. Ver.
FT257 The lake of Jazer, as Jeremiah explains it, Jer_48:32. The
plantations of this vine spread onward
to the banks, and seemed to overhang the whole breadth of the
lake. Rosenmuller
FT258 For the shouting for thy summer-fruits and for thy harvest
is fallen. (Or, the alarm is fallen upon thy
summer-fruits and upon thy harvest. Eng. Ver.
FT259 Jam canit extremos effoetus vinitor antes. Virg. Georg.
2:417.
FT260 But he shall not prevail. Eng. Ver.
-
2 Like fluttering birds
pushed from the nest,
so are the women of Moab
at the fords of the Arnon.
1.BARNES, For it shall be - It shall happen in the time of the
calamity that shall come upon Moab.
As a wandering bird - (See Isa_10:14.) The same idea is
presented in Pro_27:8 :
As a bird that wanders from her nest, So is a man that wandereth
from his place.
The idea here is that of a bird driven away from her nest, where
the nest is destroyed, and the young fly about without any home or
place of rest. So would Moab be when the inhabitants were driven
from their dwellings. The reason why this is introduced seems to
be, to enforce what the prophet had said in the previous verse -
the duty of paying the usual tribute to the Jews, and seeking their
protection. The time is coming, says the prophet, when the Moabites
shall be driven from their homes, and when they will need that
protection which they can obtain by paying the usual tribute to the
Jews.
The daughters of Moab - The females shall be driven from their
homes, and shall wander about, and endeavor to flee from the
invasion which has come upon the land. By the apprehension,
therefore, that their wives and daughters would be exposed to this
danger, the prophet calls upon the Moabites to secure the
protection of the king of Judah.
At the fords of Arnon - Arnon was the northern boundary of the
land of Moab. They would endeavor to cross that river, and thus
flee from the land, and escape the desolations that were coming
upon it. The river Arnon, now called Mujeb, flows in a deep,
frightfully wild, and rocky vale of the same name Num_21:15;
Deu_2:24; Deu_3:9, in a narrow bed, and forms at this time the
boundary between the provinces of Belka and Karrak (Seetzen).
Bridges were not common in the times here referred to; and, indeed,
permanent bridges among the ancients were things almost unknown.
Hence, they selected the places where the streams were most shallow
and gentle, as the usual places of crossing.
2. PULPIT, For it shall be; rather, and it shall be. The tribute
having been paid, Moab will regain some
confidence. Her fluttered population will return, and collect at
the fords of the Amen, ready to recross
it. As a wandering bird cast out of the nest; rather, as a
wandering bird (or, wandering birds)"as a
-
scattered nest" (or, "brood of nestlings"). The daughters of
Moab. The population of Moab generally, as
"the daughter of Zion" (Isa_16:1) is the population of Jerusalem
generally.
3. GILL, For it shall be,.... Or, "otherwise it shall be" (z);
if ye do not pay this tribute: that as a wandering bird cast out of
the nest: or, "as a wandering bird, the nest sent out": that is, as
a bird that has forsaken its nest, and wanders about, and its young
ones are turned out of the nest, scarcely fledged, and unable to
shift for themselves, but flutter about here and there, trembling
and frightened, see Pro_26:2, so the daughters of Moab shall be at
the fords of Arnon: turned out of their houses, wandering up and
down, not knowing where to go; unable to help themselves, and in
the utmost fright and consternation, fleeing to the very borders of
their land, as the fords of Arnon were, see Num_21:13.
4. KRETZMANN, . For it shall be that, as a wandering bird cast
out of the nest, like birds
aimlessly fluttering, like a nest whose occupants have suddenly
been turned out, so the daughters of
Moab shall be at the fords of Arnon; for here, at the boundary
of their land, they assemble in huddled
bands, looking for help and deliverance. To this appeal the
prophet answers:
5. JAMISON, cast out of ... nest rather, as a brood cast out (in
apposition with a wandering bird, or rather, wandering birds),
namely, a brood just fledged and expelled from the nest in which
they were hatched [Horsley]. Compare Isa_10:14; Deu_32:11.
daughters of Moab that is, the inhabitants of Moab. So
2Ki_19:21; Psa_48:11; Jer_46:11; Lam_4:22 [Maurer].
at the fords trying to cross the boundary river of Moab, in
order to escape out of the land. Ewald and Maurer make fords a
poetical expression for the dwellers on Arnon, answering to the
parallel clause of the same sense, daughters of Moab.
6. K&D, The advice does not remain without effect, but they
embrace it eagerly.And the daughters of Moab will be like birds
fluttering about, a scared nest, at the fords of the Arnon. The
daughters of Moab, like the daughters of Judah, for example, in
Psa_48:12, are the inhabitants of the cities and villages of the
land of Moab. They were already like birds soaring about
(Pro_27:8), because of their flight from their own land; but here,
as we may see from the
expression ... , the simile is intended to depict the condition
into which they would be thrown by the prophet's advice. The figure
(cf., Isa_10:14) as well as the expression (cf., Isa_17:2) is
thoroughly Isaiah's. It is a state of anxious and timid indecision,
resembling the fluttering to and fro of birds, that have been
driven away from their nest, and wheel anxiously round and round,
without daring to return to their old home. In this way the
daughters of Moab, coming out of their hiding-places, whether
nearer or more remote, show themselves at the fords of the Arnon,
that is to say, on the very soil of their old home, which was
situated between the
Arnon and Wady el-Ahsa, and which was now devastated by the hand
of a foe. 6 we
- should regard as in apposition to benoth)Moab (the daughters of
Moab), if maba
-
calling upon the Moabites to afford such protection to the Jews
who might be driven from their homes as to secure their favor, and
confirm the alliance between them; and Isa_16:6 as an intimation of
the prophet, that the pride of Moab is such that there is no reason
to suppose the advice will be followed. It makes no difference in
the sense here, whether the verb give counsel be in the singular or
the plural number.
If singular, it may be understood as addressed to Moab itself;
if plural, to the inhabitants of Moab. Vitringa supposes that this
an additional advice given to the Moabites by the prophet, or by a
chorus of the Jews, to exercise the offices of kindness and
humanity toward the Jews, that thus they might avoid the calamities
which were impending. The first counsel was Isa_16:1, to pay the
proper tribute to the Jewish nation; this is Isa_16:3-5 to show to
those Jews who might be driven from their land kindness and
protection, and thus preserve the friendship of the Jewish nation.
This is, probably, the correct interpretation, as if he had said,
ake counsel; seek advice in your circumstances; be not hasty, rash,
impetuous, unwise; do not cast off the friendship of the Jews; do
not deal unkindly with those who may seek a refuge in your land,
and thus provoke the nation to enmity; but let your land be an
asylum, and thus conciliate and secure the friendship of the Jewish
nation, and thus mercy shall be reciprocated and shown to you by
him who shall occupy the throne of David Isa_16:5. The design is,
to induce the Moabites to show kindness to the fugitive Jews who
might seek a refuge there, that thus, in turn, the Jews might show
them kindness. But the prophet foresaw Isa_16:6 that Moab was so
proud that he would neither pay the accustomed tribute to the Jews,
nor afford them protection; and, therefore, the judgment is
threatened against them which is finally to overthrow them.
Execute judgment - That is, do that which is equitable and
right; which you would desire to be done in like circumstances.
Make thy shadow - A shadow or shade, is often in the Scriptures
an emblem of protection from the burning heat of the sun, and
thence, of these burning, consuming judgments, which are
represented by the intense heat of the sun (note, Isa_4:6; compare
Isa_25:4; Isa_32:2; Lam_4:20).
As the night - That is, a deep, dense shade, such as the night
is, compared with the intense heat of noon. This idea was one that
was very striking in the East. Nothing, to travelers crossing the
burning deserts, could be more refreshing than the shade of a
far-projecting rock, or of a grove, or of the night. Thus Isaiah
counsels the Moabites to be to the Jews - to furnish protection to
them which may be like the grateful shade furnished to the traveler
by the rock in the desert. The figure used here is common in the
East. Thus it is said in praise of a nobleman: Like the sun, he
warmed in the cold; and when Sirius shone, then was he coolness and
shade. In the Sunna it is said: Seven classes of people will the
Lord overshadow with his shade, when no shade will be like his; the
upright Imam, the youth, etc.
Hide the outcasts - The outcasts of Judah - those of the Jews
who may be driven away from their own homes, and who may seek
protection in your land. Moab is often represented as a place of
refuge to the outcast Hebrews (see the Analysis to Isa_15:1-9.)
Bewray not him that wandereth - Reveal not ( tegal1y), do not
show them to their pursuer; that is, give them concealment and
protection.
2. CLARKE, Take counsel Impart counsel - The Vulgate renders the
verbs in the beginning of this verse in the singular number, So the
Keri; and so likewise sixty-one MSS. of Kennicotts and De Rossis
have it, and nineteen editions, and the Syriac. The verbs
throughout the verse are also in the feminine gender; agreeing with
Zion, which I suppose to be understood.
-
3. GILL, Take counsel, execute judgment,.... This refers either
to what goes before, that they would take the counsel given, and do
that which was just and right, by paying tribute to the king of
Judah; or to what follows, that they would enter into a
consultation, the king of Moab with his nobles, and resolve upon
what was right, and do it, by protecting and harbouring the
distressed Jews, who would flee unto them from the enemy: make thy
shadow as the night in the midst of the noonday; a time of the
greatest heat, to which the Assyrian army, for its force and fury,
and the mischief done by it, is compared: and the Moabites they are
advised to make a shadow, as large and as strong as the dark night,
that is, to protect the Jews in their distress, and to refresh and
comfort them under it; see Isa_4:6, hide the outcasts; such as were
driven out of their land through the fury and persecution of the
enemy, receive and conceal, as Rahab did the spies: bewray not him
that wandereth; from his native place, as a bird from its nest,
being forced to it; such an one, or as many as may be, in such a
case, do not discover them where they are, or betray them, and
deliver them up into the hands of their enemy.
4. HENRY, He advises them to be kind to the seed of Israel
(Isa_16:3): Take counsel, call a convention, and consult among
yourselves what is fit to be done in the present critical juncture;
and you will find it your best way to execute judgment, to reverse
all the unrighteous decrees you have made, by which you have put
hardships upon the people of God, and, in token of your repentance
for them, study now how to oblige them, and this shall be accepted
of God more than all burnt-offering and sacrifice.
1. The prophet foresaw some storm coming upon the people of God,
perhaps the good people of the ten tribes, or of the two and a half
on the other side Jordan, whose country joined to that of Moab, and
who, by the merciful providence of God, escaped the fury of the
Assyrian army, had their lives given them for a prey, and were
reserved for better times, but were put to the utmost extremity to
shift for their own safety. The danger and trouble they were in
were like the scorching heat at noon; the face of the spoiler was
very fierce upon them and the oppressor and extortioner were ready
to swallow them up after stripping them of what they had.
5. JAMISON, Gesenius, Maurer, etc., regard these verses as an
address of the fugitive Moabites to the Jews for protection; they
translate Isa_16:4, Let mine outcasts of Moab dwell with thee,
Judah; the protection will be refused by the Jews, for the pride of
Moab (Isa_16:6). Vitringa makes it an additional advice to Moab,
besides paying tribute. Give shelter to the Jewish outcasts who
take refuge in thy land (Isa_16:3, Isa_16:4); so mercy will be
shown thee in turn by whatever king sits on the throne of David
(Isa_16:5). Isaiah foresees that Moab will be too proud to pay the
tribute, or conciliate Judah by sheltering its outcasts (Isa_16:6);
therefore judgment shall be executed. However, as Moab just before
is represented as itself an outcast in Idumea, it seems incongruous
that it should be called on to shelter Jewish outcasts. So that it
seems rather to foretell the ruined state of Moab when its people
should beg the Jews for shelter, but be refused for their pride.
make ... shadow as ... night ... in ... noonday emblem of a thick
shelter from the
glaring noonday heat (Isa_4:6; Isa_25:4; Isa_32:2).
-
bewray ... wandereth Betray not the fugitive to his pursuer.
6. PULPIT, Take counsel, execute judgment, etc. According to
most critics, these are the words of the
Moabites, or of a Moabite ambassador at Jerusalem, and are a
call on Judaea to give shelter to the
fugitives from Moab. Some, however, as Dr. Kay, maintain that
the words are the prophet's, addressed to
Moab, calling on her to treat kindly fugitives from Judaea. Make
thy shadow as the
night (comp. Isa_4:6). In the hot land of Moab the sun is an
enemy, and "the shadow of a great rock" a
welcome refuge.
7.CALVIN, 3.Assemble a council. (252) He proceeds with the same
subject; for if we wish rightly to
understand this passage, we must set before our minds the
dreadful ruin of the Moabites. Their crimes
are brought to remembrance, that all may see more clearly how
deservedly they are punished. When
everything was in their power, they freely indulged in
licentiousness, and would not listen to any reproofs;
but now, when they are deprived of everything, they groan, and
seek remedies which are nowhere to be
found. The Lord deals with the reprobate in such a manner that,
in order to leave them without excuse, he
bestows upon them, and places in their hands, everything that
they need; but when, through their wicked
passion, they have abused and turned everything to a wicked
purpose, he deprives them of all aid and
support, and utterly destroys them.
Execute judgment. While the Moabites enjoyed prosperity, they
cared little about what was good and
right; while it was in their power to rule, and to have their
kingdom established, in a just manner, they
abused their power for the purpose of tyranny. Now that they
were stripped of all authority, and were
exiles and fugitives, Isaiah ironically advises them to assemble
councils and execute judgments, which
they had formerly overturned through fraud and injustice. Isaiah
has in view that time when all power and
authority was taken out of the hands of the Moabites. The
upbraiding is similar to that with which the Lord
addresses Adam, (Gen_3:22,)Behold, Adam is become as one of us,
ridiculing him with the biting taunt,
that he was not satisfied with his exalted attainments, and
wished to rival God himself.
In like manner, the Moabites, not satisfied with their ornaments
and wealth, wretchedly harassed and
plundered the Israelites and Jews, and formed wicked plans
against them. Having abused the excellent
gift of God, they therefore deserved to have this reproof
addressed to them, which is equally applicable to
all the reprobate, who proudly vaunt in prosperity and
barbarously abuse it for harassing the godly.
Seeing that they basely pollute those things which the Lord had
set apart to their proper use, it is right
that they should be deprived of them and reduced to the lowest
poverty. We have instances of this every
day. How comes it that those who were raised to the highest rank
of honor fall down headlong, but
-
because the Lord punishes their tyrannical rule and their
crimes? The Lord also ridicules their upbraiding
and reproachful language, their wailings, and even their
complaints; as when they exclaim, that I had the
wealth which I once enjoyed! O that I were restored to my former
condition! For then repentance will be
too late.
Make thy shadow. The Moabites might, as I have already hinted,
have given some relief to the wretched
Jews, when they were harassed by the Assyrians; or, at least, if
they had had a spark of humanity, they
ought to have protected the fugitives; but, on the contrary,
they persecuted them, and added to the weight
of their afflictions, which were already oppressive. It was
highly proper that the Moabites should be the
subjects of that cruelty which they had exercised towards
others; that, when they had been driven from
their dwellings, and were exiles and wanderers, they should
nowhere find any solace, any shadow to
shelter them from the heat; for why should they enjoy the
consolations which they had barbarously
refused to others?
As the night in the midst of noon-day. (253) By noon-day is here
meant the most scorching heat. This
metaphor is frequently employed in Scripture, that the Lord was
like a cloud at noon, and like a pillar of
fire by night; for he once was so in the wilderness. (Exo_13:21;
Num_14:14; Deu_1:33.) This mode of
expression, being customary, was retained by the Prophets,
though they did not relate the history.
Hide the banished. He means the Jews, whom the Assyrians
persecuted and harassed, and whom the
Moabites at the same time treated cruelly. It was their duty to
shelter and relieve the fugitives, and
especially those who fled to them for protection; but seeing
that they drove them out, it was proper that
they should be driven out in the same manner, and deprived of
all assistance and support; for it is a
righteous sentence which the Lord pronounces, when he enjoins
that the same measure which every one
metes shall be measured to him again. (Deu_19:19; Mat_7:2.) Now
the Prophet calls on the Moabites to
acknowledge their sins, so as to confess that they are justly
punished for their cruelty. Yet he rather has
the Jews in his eye, in order to inform them that God does not
disregard their afflictions, for they are told
that he will be their avenger.
4 Let the Moabite fugitives stay with you;
be their shelter from the destroyer.
-
The oppressor will come to an end,
and destruction will cease;
the aggressor will vanish from the land.
1.BARNES, Let mine outcasts - This may be understood as the
language of Judea, or of God. Mine outcasts may mean the exiles of
Judea, or God may call them his. The sense is essentially the same.
It denotes those who were fugitives, wanderers, exiles from the
land of Judea, and who took refuge in the land of Moab; and God
claims for them protection.
Dwell with thee - Not dwell permanently, but sojourn ( yagu
-
3. GILL, Let mine outcasts dwell with thee,.... Not whom God had
cast out, but who were the Lord's people, and whom he owns as such,
though cast out by the enemy, or obliged to flee, and quit their
country; let these be sojourners in thy land; let them continue
awhile there; let them dwell privately and peaceably: Moab, be thou
a covert to them from the face of the spoiler: that is, O king of
Moab, or kingdom of Moab, as the Targum, hide and protect the Jews
that shall flee to thee for shelter, from the face of the spoiler
of their land and substance, Sennacherib king of Assyria; and, to
encourage them to do these things, it is suggested that they would
not be long troublesome to them, and would quickly be in a capacity
of requiting them, and of being serviceable to them in like
distress: for the extortioner is at an end; or "the squeezer", or
"wringer out" (a); that oppressed them, and wrung their property
out of their hands; that milked them out of their substance, and
even sucked their blood; meaning the Assyrian monarch, whose time
was short, and an end was soon put to all his schemes and
oppressions: the spoiler ceaseth: out of the land, being obliged to
depart out of it: the oppressors are consumed out of the land: the
Assyrian army, and its officers, who were all consumed in one night
by an angel, 2Ki_19:35.
4. HENRY, He bespeaks a shelter for them in the land of Moab,
when their own land was made too hot for them. This judgment they
must execute; thus wisely must they do for themselves, and thus
kindly must they deal with the people of God. If they would
themselves continue in their habitations, let them now open their
doors to the distressed dispersed members of God's church, and be
to them like a cool shade to those that bear the burden and heat of
the day. Let them not discover those that absconded among them, nor
deliver them up to the pursuers that made search for them: Betray
not him that wandereth, nor deliver him up (as the Edomites did,
Oba_1:13, Oba_1:14), but hide the outcasts. This was that good work
by which Rahab's faith was justified, and proved to be sincere,
Heb_11:31. Nay, do not only hide them for a time, but, if there be
occasion, let them be naturalized: Let my outcasts dwell with thee,
Moab (Isa_16:4); find a lodging for them and be thou a covert to
them. Let them be taken under the protection of the government,
though they are but poor, and likely to be a charge to thee. Note,
(1.) It is often the lot even of those who are Israelites indeed to
be outcasts, driven out of house and harbour by persecution or war,
Heb_11:37. (2.) God owns them when men reject and disown them. They
are outcasts, but they are my outcasts. The Lord knows those that
are his wherever he finds them, even where no one else knows them.
(3.) God will find a rest and shelter for his outcasts; for, though
they are persecuted, they are not forsaken. He will himself be
their dwelling-place if they have no other, and in him they shall
be at home. (4.) God can, when he pleases, raise up friends for his
people even among Moabites, when they can find none in all the land
of Israel that can and dare shelter them. The earth often helps the
woman, Rev_12:16. (5.) Those that expect to find favour when they
are in trouble themselves must show favour to those that are in
trouble; and what service is done to God's outcasts shall no doubt
be recompensed one way or other.
3. He assures them of the mercy God had in store for his people.
(1.) That they should not long need their kindness, or be
troublesome to them: For the extortioner is almost at an end
already, and the spoiler ceases. God's people shall not be long
outcasts; they shall have tribulation ten
-
days (Rev_2:10), and that is all. The spoiler would never cease
spoiling if he might have his will; but God has him in a chain.
Hitherto he shall go, but no further. (2.) That they should, ere
long, be in a capacity to return their kindness (Isa_16:5): Though
the throne of the ten tribes be sunk and overturned, yet the throne
of David shall be established in mercy, by the mercy they receive
from God and the mercy they show to others; and by the same methods
may your throne be established if you please. It would engage great
men to be kind to the people of God if they would but observe, as
they easily might, how often such conduct brings the blessing of
God upon kingdoms and families. Make Hezekiah your friend, for you
will find it your interest to do so upon the account both of the
grace of God in him and the presence of God with him. He shall sit
upon the throne in truth, and then he does indeed sit in honour and
sit firmly. Then he shall sit judging, and will then be a protector
to those that have been a shelter to the people of God. And see in
him the character of a good magistrate. [1.] He shall seek
judgment; that is, he shall seek occasions of doing right to those
that are wronged, and shall punish the injurious even before they
are complained of: or he shall diligently search into every cause
brought before him, that he may find where the right lies. [2.] He
shall hasten righteousness, and not delay to do justice, nor keep
those long waiting that make application to him for the redress of
their grievances. Though he seeks judgment, and deliberates upon
it, yet he does not, under pretence of deliberation, stay the
progress of the streams of justice. Let the Moabites take example
by this, and then assure themselves that their state shall be
established.
5. BI, Gods outcasts in Moab
An injunction is given to Moab to shelter the Jewish
fugitives.
I. GOD OWNS HIS PEOPLE WHEN ALL THE WORLD FORSAKES OR OPPOSES
THEM. No doubt Sennacherib thought the outcasts to be his victims,
his prey; but God claims a personal interest in them, watches over
them when they wander, supplies them in their need, and protects
them by His guardian providence. They are His: His as the subjects
of His government; His as the objects of His regard; His as the
children of His grace.
II. GOD RAISES UP FRIENDS AND COMFORTERS FOR HIS CHURCH IN
STRANGE AND UNEXPECTED QUARTERS. Here He provides for them a
shelter before the storm comes on, and makes Moab, one of the most
powerful of the Churchs enemies, a near and a present friend. God
proves to Moab that it was their interest to do so, because the
Jews would soon be in a condition to requite the favour, when their
country should be invaded, and their daughters should wander
without a home (Isa_16:2). The providence of God often makes the
hostile feelings of bad men the occasion of good to the
righteous.
III. GOD CAN OVERRULE CALAMITIES, WHICH THREATEN NOTHING BUT
DISASTER TO HIS CHURCH, INTO THE MEANS OF CONFIRMING FAITH AND
HOPE. Gods outcasts in Moab learned many a useful lesson there, and
when they returned it was to uphold the government of Hezekiah, and
to promote the welfare of the people with whom they had sojourned.
And the throne shall be established in mercy, and He shall sit upon
it in truth in the tabernacle of David (Isa_16:5). Sennacheribs
invasion, which scattered his subjects in exile, threatened the
overthrow of Hezekiah, but it really tended to establish him, for
never was his kingdom more secure than after the overthrow of the
Assyrian army. The same thing obtains in the experience of the
Christian. As the birds sing most sweetly after a tempest; as
torches shine brighter for shaking; as the flowers shed forth their
fragrance at the close of a troubled day, so the graces of a
Christian, his faith, his patience, and his hope, are matured by
the trials that
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threatened their utter extinction. In the kingdom of Christ, a
kingdom which is established in mercy, you find perpetual progress
amidst perpetual storm, and a noontide of brightness often succeeds
the darkest night.
IV. AMIDST ALL WANDERINGS GOD WOULD HAVE HIS PEOPLE REMEMBER
THEIR DISTINCTIVE CHARACTER AND PREPARE FOR RETURN. They were to
dwell in Moab, but only for a season, and always to bear the heart
of a stranger. It is a great thing in days of worldly compliance
and conformity, when everyone seems to live as if he were to live
here always, to have in exercise a better hope, and for Christians
to preserve the distinctness of their character. The Divine hand
that created our frame and put life into it, has provided us with
other resources than are found in feeble self, or in creatures
feeble as ourselves. Besides this earth and these lower skies,
there is an invisible world, and a kingdom of spirits. Let
Christians seek to be in the world, but not of it. (Homiletic
Magazine.)
6. PULPIT, Let mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab. The change
of one accent will allow of this
passage being translated, Let the outcasts of Moab dwell with
thee; and so it is rendered by the LXX; the
Syriac, by Lowth, Gesenius, Hitzig, Ewald, and Mr. Cheyne.
Delitzsch and Dr. Kay agree with the
Authorized Version. For the extortioner is at an end. This seems
to be urged as a reason why the
protection asked should be given: it will not be for longthe
oppressor is about to receive chastisement.
He is called "the extortioner," as exacting the utmost possible
tribute from conquered lands. Such
exaction was characteristic of Assyria (2Ki_15:19;2Ki_18:14;
'Assyrian Inscriptions,' passim). The spoiler
ceaseth; literally, devastation ceaseth.
7. CALVIN, 4.Let mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab. The
Prophet addresses the Moabites, as if he
were humbly beseeching them in the name of the people at large.
are neighbors, related to us by blood;
receive and assist those who are in distress: and if you do not
choose to assist, at least do them no
harm. God, who usually undertakes the cause of his people, is
represented by the Prophet as if he
performed the part of a suppliant. It is certain, that the
Moabites did not at all act in this manner towards
the Jews, but, on the contrary, that they joined their efforts
with the enemies of the Jews to do them
injury. But, as I said a little before, the Prophet sets before
our eyes that justice which even nature
demands, that the cruel violation of it may be the more
abhorred.
This passage ought to be carefully observed; for God shows how
great is the care which he takes of his
people, since the injuries done to them affect him in the same
manner as if they had been done to
himself; as he declares by Zechariah, that whenever they are
touched, the apple of his eye is touched.
(Zec_2:8.) Hehears the groaning, (Psa_102:20,) and observes the
tears, of wretched men who call upon
him; (Psa_12:5;) and though this be not always visible to us,
yet in due season he shows that he has
heard them.
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Let us therefore learn from this passage to be kind and dutiful
to fugitives and exiles, and especially to
believers, who are banished for their confession of the word. No
duty can be more pleasing or acceptable
to God; and, on the other hand, nothing is more hateful or
abominable in his sight than barbarity and
cruelty. If we wish to obtain any alleviation of our calamities,
let us be kind and compassionate, and not
refuse assistance to the needy.
Blessed, says he, is he that judgeth wisely about the poor and
needy; the Lord will deliver him in the evil
day.
(Psa_41:1.)
On the other hand,
he shall have judgment without mercy who hath showed no mercy.
(Jas_2:13.)
When God calls them his banished, this may without impropriety
be viewed as referring to punishment, as
if he said, that by a just judgment they were banished from the
land of Canaan, (Deu_28:64,) as he had
so often threatened against them. Yet undoubtedly he likewise
means, that they continue to be under his
defense and protection, because, though they are banished and
driven out of their native country, still he
acknowledges them to be his people. That calamity which the Jews
endured might be regarded as an
evidence that they were cast off; but the Lord acknowledges them
to be his children, though he chastises
them severely. Hence we obtain a doctrine full of consolation,
that we are reckoned in the number of his
children, though sharp and heavy strokes are inflicted upon
us.
For the extortioner hath ceased. (254) He now directs his
discourse to the Jews, and proceeds to comfort
them, as he had done formerly, by showing that, when their
enemies shall be removed from the midst of
them, the banishment or ruin of their enemies will also relieve
their own calamities and distresses. Yet the
former statements related chiefly to the Jews, though the
Prophet expressly addressed the Moabites. But
at that time he only threatened vengeance on enemies, while here
he more clearly promises consolation
to his people; as if he had said, thoughtest, O Moab, that my
people were utterly ruined: but I will
restrain the enemies, and put an end to that affliction. Thou
shalt therefore perish; but my people shall at
length be delivered from those dreadful calamities.
Perhaps it will rather be thought that there is a change of the
tenses; and thus the particle , (ki,) which
we have rendered For, will signify Until; (255) and this clause
will be read in immediate connection with the
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former part of the sentence. Let my banished dwell with thee,
Moab; be thou a place of concealment from
the face of the destroyer, until the extortioner shall have
ceased. But as that might be thought to be a
forced interpretation, I have chosen to abide by the natural
meaning.
5 In love a throne will be established;
in faithfulness a man will sit on it
one from the house[a] of David
one who in judging seeks justice
and speeds the cause of righteousness.
1.BARNES, And in mercy - In benignity; kindness;
benevolence.
Shall the throne be established - The throne of the king of
Judah. That is, he that shall sit upon the throne of David shall be
disposed to repay the kindness which is now sought at the hand of
Moab, and shall be able to do it.
And he shall sit upon it - The king of Israel.
In truth - In faithfulness; that is, shall be true and faithful.
His character shall be such that he will do justice, and will
furnish protection and aid to the Moabites, if they now receive the
fugitives of Israel.
In the tabernacle of David - In the dwelling place; the palace
of David; for so the word
tabernacle, or tent ( 'o
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2. PULPIT, Take counsel, execute judgment, etc. According to
most critics, these are the words of the
Moabites, or of a Moabite ambassador at Jerusalem, and are a
call on Judaea to give shelter to the
fugitives from Moab. Some, however, as Dr. Kay, maintain that
the words are the prophet's, addressed to
Moab, calling on her to treat kindly fugitives from Judaea. Make
thy shadow as the
night (comp. Isa_4:6). In the hot land of Moab the sun is an
enemy, and "the shadow of a great rock" a
welcome refuge.
3. GILL, In mercy shall the throne be established - May not this
refer to the throne of Hezekiah? Here we have the character of such
a king as cannot fail to be a blessing to the people.
1. He sitteth on the throne in truth - He does not merely
profess to be the father and protector of his people: but he is
actually such.
2. He is judging. He is not a man of war or blood, who wastes
his subjects lives and treasures in contentions with neighboring
nations, in order to satisfy his ambition by the extension of his
territory. On the contrary, his whole life is occupied in the
distribution of justice.
3. He seeketh judgment. He seeks out the poor distressed ones
who cannot make their way to him, and avenges them on their
oppressors.
4. He hastens righteousness. He does not suffer any of the
courts of justice to delay the determination of the causes brought
before them: he so orders that the point in litigation be fairly,
fully, and speedily heard; and then judgment pronounced. Delays in
the execution of justice answer little end but the enriching of
unprincipled lawyers.
4. HENRY, That they should, ere long, be in a capacity to return
their kindness (Isa_16:5): Though the throne of the ten tribes be
sunk and overturned, yet the throne of David shall be established
in mercy, by the mercy they receive from God and the mercy they
show to others; and by the same methods may your throne be
established if you please. It would engage great men to be kind to
the people of God if they would but observe, as they easily might,
how often such conduct brings the blessing of God upon kingdoms and
families. Make Hezekiah your friend, for you will find it your
interest to do so upon the account both of the grace of God in him
and the presence of God with him. He shall sit upon the throne in
truth, and then he does indeed sit in honour and sit firmly. Then
he shall sit judging, and will then be a protector to those that
have been a shelter to the people of God. And see in him the
character of a good magistrate. [1.] He shall seek judgment; that
is, he shall seek occasions of doing right to those that are
wronged, and shall punish the injurious even before they are
complained of: or he shall diligently search into every cause
brought before him, that he may find where the right lies. [2.] He
shall hasten righteousness, and not delay to do justice, nor keep
those long waiting that make application to him for the redress of
their grievances. Though he seeks judgment, and deliberates upon
it, yet he does not, under pretence of deliberation, stay the
progress of the streams of justice. Let the Moabites take example
by this, and then assure themselves that their state shall be
established.
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5. JAMISON, If Judah shelters the suppliant Moab, allowing him
to remain in Idumea, a blessing will redound to Judah itself and
its throne.
truth ... judgment ... righteousness language so divinely framed
as to apply to the latter days under King Messiah, when the Lord
shall bring again the captivity of Moab (Psa_72:2; Psa_96:13;
Psa_98:9; Jer_48:47; Rom_11:12).
hasting prompt in executing.
6. BI, The moral purpose of judgment
The moral purpose of judgment is never concealed in the Divine
writings. God is always seeking to bring about the time when in
mercy His throne shall be established, and when there shall sit
upon it in truth one who will represent the ideal judgment and
blessing of God. The fifth verse might be rendered, In mercy shall
a throne be established, and One shall sit upon it in truth. The
prophet has constantly kept before his mind the image of an ideal
king. The ideal was partially fulfilled in Hezekiah, yet only
partially; the prophet was sure One was coming who would fulfil it
in its utmost meaning, and he steadfastly kept his eye on the
bright day when Gods throne should be established among the
nations, and His sceptre should be extended over all. God does not
exist merely to destroy, nor does He rule only in order that He may
humble and crush; His purpose is one of equity, righteousness,
blessing, cultivation. (J. Parker, D. D.)
7.CALVIN, 5.And the throne shall be prepared in mercy. (256) The
Jews explain the whole of this
verse as referring to Hezekiah; but this is altogether
inappropriate, for the Prophet speaks of a more
important restoration of the Church, and the Moabites had not
been punished during the flourishing
condition of Hezekiah reign; and the blessing of God again began
to burst forth on the Jews. It is as if it
had been said the enemies of the chosen people maliciously
contrive the ruin of that kingdom, which
God promised should be established for ever. (2Sa_7:13.) That
the godly may not give way to
despondency amidst the unhappy confusion, they are reminded of
the perpetuity of the kingdom, of which
they had been assured by a well-known prediction.
It cannot therefore be explained as referring to any other than
to Christ, though I acknowledge that
Hezekiah was a type of Christ, as David and the rest of his
successors also were. But they conduct us to
Christ, who alone is the protector and leader of his people,
(Joh_10:16,) and who has gathered the
remnant that was scattered abroad. (Joh_11:52.) For this reason
he sends back the godly to Christ, as if
he had said, know what God you worship. He has declared that he
will watch over your safety, so that
under his protection you will always continue to be safe and
uninjured; and if you shall at any time meet
with reverses, he has promised to you a Redeemer, under whom you
shall enjoy renewed and steadfast
prosperity. Though for a time you may weep, yet the protector of
the Church will come, and will restore
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you to a flourishing state of freedom. You ought, therefore,
with your whole heart, to rely on the
expectation of him; even when you see the Church to be in a
confused and wretched condition.
This ought to be carefully observed; for all other consolations
are transitory and fading, if we do not refer
all of them to Christ. Let our eyes therefore be fixed on him,
if we wish to be happy and prosperous; for he
has promised that we shall be happy even amidst the cross,
(Mat_5:10,) that agony and torments will
open up the way to a blessed life, (2Co_4:17,) and that all the
afflictions which we shall suffer will add to
the amount of our happiness. (Rom_8:28.)
In mercy. Isaiah shows that this does not take place through the
agency of men, but by the kindness of
God, who is the builder of this throne; and therefore we ought
to acknowledge that it is owing to his
undeserved goodness that this sacred throne is established among
us. The Prophet expressly confirms
this by saying, that the cause of it must not be sought anywhere
else than in the absolute mercy of God.
Nor can any other cause be found; for God could not be induced
by any excellence of character, or by
merits, (of which there certainly were none,) to set up again
the throne which had fallen down through the
fault and through the crimes of the people; but when he saw that
those whom he had adopted were
ruined, he wished to give a proof of his infinite goodness. Now,
if God build this throne, by whom shall it
be overturned? Will wicked men be stronger than he?
And he will sit upon it in the tabernacle of David. Almost every
word here is emphatic, so that this verse
deserves to be continually pondered. I do not object to the
opinion that the word tabernacle contains an
allusion to this effect, that he was but an ordinary man before
he was called to sit on a throne.
(1Sa_16:11; 2Sa_7:8.) The Prophet intended to draw a picture of
the Church, which has no resemblance
to the thrones of kings and of princes, and does not shine with
gold or precious stones. Though he has
held out the spiritual kingdom of Christ under a mean and
despicable shape, yet at the same time he
shows that that kingdom will be seen on earth and amongst men.
If he had only said that the throne of
Christ will be erected, we might have asked, Will his throne be
in heaven, or also on earth? But now when
he says, in the tabernacle of David, he shows that Christ reigns
not only among angels but also among
men, lest we should think that, in order to seek him, we must
enter into heaven. Wicked men ridicule what
we preach about the kingdom of Christ, as if it were some
phantom of our own imagination. They wish to
see it with their eyes, and to have the evidence of their
senses; but we ought not to conceive of it as at all
carnal, but to be satisfied with his arm and with his power.
In steadfastness. (emeth) denotes not only truth but every kind
of certainty. The Prophet means that
the kingdom of Christ will be firm and steadfast, as Daniel also
declared. (Dan_2:44.) The Evangelist also
says, Of his kingdom there shall be no end. (Luk_1:33.) In this
respect it is distinguished from the ordinary
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condition of kingdoms, which, even when they are founded on
great and enormous wealth, crumble down
or even fall by their own weight, so that they have no more
permanency than vanishing pictures. But
Isaiah declares, that the kingdom of Christ, though it
frequently totter, will be supported by the hand of
God, and therefore will last for ever. These proofs ought to
fortify us against temptations which arise,
whenever the kingdom of Christ is attacked by enemies so
numerous and powerful that we might be
ready to think that it will quickly be destroyed. Whatever
weapons the world may employ, and though hell
itself should vomit out flames of fire, we must abide by this
promise.
Who shall judge. I understand (shophet) to mean Governor, as if
he had said, will be one who
shall govern. Often do we see a magnificent throne when there is
no one to sit on it, and it frequently
happens that kings are either idols or cattle, without judgment
or skill or wisdom. But here he says, that
one will sit who shall discharge the office of a good governor;
and this is added in order to assure us that
Christ will be our protector.
And seek judgment and hasten righteousness. The judgment and the
righteousness which are ascribed
to him, are nothing else than the protection under which he
receives us, and which he will not allow to be
infringed; for he will not allow wicked men who injure us to
pass unpunished, while we patiently and
calmly commit ourselves to his protection. By the word hasten he
shows that he will quickly and speedily
avenge our cause. This must be viewed as a rebuke to our
impatience, for we never think that his
assistance comes soon enough. But when we are hurried along by
the violence of passion, let us
remember that this arises from not submitting to his providence;
for although according to the judgment of
our flesh he delays, still he regulates his judgment in the best
manner by the seasons which are well
known to him. Let us therefore submit to his will.
6 We have heard of Moabs pride
how great is her arrogance!
of her conceit, her pride and her insolence;
but her boasts are empty.
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1.BARNES, We have heard of the pride of Moab - We Jews; we have
all heard of it; that is, we know that he is proud. The evident
design of the prophet here is, to say that Moab was so proud, and
was well known to be so haughty, that he would reject this counsel.
He would neither send the usual tribute to the land of Judea
Isa_16:1, thus acknowledging his dependence on them; nor would he
give protection to the exiled Jews as they should wander through
his land, and thus endeavor to conciliate their favor, and secure
their friendship. As a consequence of this, the prophet proceeds to
state that heavy judgments would come upon Moab as a nation.
He is very proud - The same thing is stated in the parallel
place in Jer_48:29 (compare Isa_16:11). Moab was at ease; he was
confident in his security; he feared nothing; he sought no means,
therefore, of securing the friendship of the Jews.
And his wrath - As the result of pride and haughtiness. Wrath or
indignation is excited in a proud man when he is opposed, and when
the interests of others are not made to give way to his.
But his lies shall not be so - The Hebrew phrase ( lo' ke
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This shall they have for their pride; Because they have raised a
reproach, and have magnified themselves Against the people of
Jehovah God of hosts.
3. GILL, We have heard of the pride of Moab,.... These are the
words of the prophet, either in the name of the Lord, or in the
person of the Jews, or of other nations, who had heard very
frequently, and from many persons, and from every quarter, of the
excessive pride of this people, and had many instances of it
related to them, which foretold their ruin; for pride comes before
a fall: (he is very proud): though his original was so base and
infamous; and therefore there is little reason to hope or expect
that he would take the advice above given him, or do the good
offices for the Jews he was exhorted to; his pride was such, that
he would despise the counsel of God, and would never stoop to do
any favour for his people: even of his haughtiness, and his pride,
and his wrath; of his contempt of the people of God, and his wrath
against them: but his lies shall not be so; or, "his strength"
shall "not be so" (b); as his wrath: he shall not be able to do
what in his pride and wrath he said he would do; all his wicked
thoughts and devices, all his haughty and wrathful expressions,
will signify nothing; they will all be of no effect, for God
resisteth the proud, see Jer_48:30. It may be rendered, "not
right", that of "his diviners" (c); their words and works, what
they say or do; so the word is used in Isa_44:25.
4. HENRY, Here we have, I. The sins with which Moab is charged,
Isa_16:6. The prophet
seems to check himself for going about to give good counsel to
the Moabites, concluding they
would not take the advice he gave them. He told them their duty
(whether they would hear or
whether they would forbear), but despairs of working any good
upon them; he would have
healed them, but they would not be healed. Those that will not
be counselled cannot be helped.
Their sins were, 1. Pride. This is most insisted upon; for
perhaps there are more precious souls
ruined by pride than by any one lust whatsoever. The Moabites
were notorious for this: We
have heard in both ears of the pride of Moab; it is what all
their neighbours cry out shame upon
them for. He is very proud; the body of the nation is so,
forgetting the baseness of their origin
and the brand of infamy fastened upon them by that law of God
which forbade a Moabite to
enter into the congregation of the Lord for ever, Deu_23:3. We
have heard of his haughtiness
and his pride. It is not the rash and rigid censure of one of
two concerning them, but it is the
character which all that know them will give of them. They are a
proud people, and therefore
they will not take good counsel when it is given them. They
think themselves too wise to be
advised; therefore they will not take example by Hezekiah to do
justly and love mercy. They
-
scorn to make him their pattern, for they think themselves able
to teach him. They are proud,
and therefore will not be subject to God himself nor regard the
warnings he gives them. The
wicked, in the pride of his countenance, will not seek after
God. They are proud, and therefore
will not entertain and protect God's outcasts; they scorn to
have any thing to do with them. But
this is not all: - 2. We have heard of his wrath too (for those
that are very proud are commonly
very passionate), particularly his wrath against the people of
God, whom therefore he will rather
persecute than protect. 3. It is with his lies that he gains the
gratifications of his pride and his
passion; but his lies shall not be so; he shall not compass his
proud and angry projects as he
hoped he should. Some read it, His haughtiness, his pride, and
his wrath, are greater than his
strength. We know that, if we lay at his mercy, we should find
no mercy with him, but he has
not power equal to his malice. His pride draws down ruin upon
him; for it is the preface to
destruction, and he has not strength to ward it off.
5. JAMISON, We Jews. We reject Moabs supplication for his
pride.
lies false boasts.
not be so rather, not right; shall prove vain (Isa_25:10;
Jer_48:29, Jer_48:30; Zep_2:8). It shall not be so; his lies shall
not so effect it.
6. K&D, But if Moab does this, and the law of the history of
Israel, which is that a remnant shall return, is thus reflected in
the history of Moab; Isa_16:6 cannot possibly contain the answer
which Moab receives from Zion, as the more modern commentators
assume according to an error that has almost become traditional. On
the contrary, the prophecy enters here upon a new stage, commencing
with Moab's sin, and depicting the fate of Moab in still more
elegiac strains. We have heard of the pride of Moab, the very
haughty (pride), his haughtiness, and his pride, and his wrath, the
falsehood of his speech. The future self-humiliation of Moab, which
would be the fruit of its sufferings, is here contrasted with the
previous self-exaltation, of which these sufferings were the fruit.
We have heard, says the prophet, identifying himself with his
people. Boasting pompousness has hitherto been the distinguishing
characteristic of Moab in relation to the latter (see Isa_25:11).
The heaping up of words of the same verbal stem (cf., Isa_3:1) is
here intended to indicate how thoroughly haughty was their
haughtiness (cf., Rom_7:13, that sin might become exceeding
sinful), and how completely it had taken possession of Moab. It
boasted and was full of rage towards Israel, to which, so far as it
retained
its consciousness of the truth of Jehovah, the talk of Moab (
from = , , to talk at
random) must necessarily appear as , not-right, i.e., at
variance with fact. These expressions of opinion had been heard by
the people of God, and, as Jeremiah adds in Jer_48:29-30, by
Israel's God as well.
7.CALVIN, 6.We have heard of the pride of Moab. The Prophet
added this statement by way of
anticipation. It might be thought that men could not believe
what he had promised about r