| Back to Home Page | Back to Book Index
|
Isaiah Chapter
Sixteen
Isaiah 16
Chapter Contents
Moab is exhorted to yield obedience. (1-5) The pride and
the judgments of Moab. (6-14)
Commentary on Isaiah 16:1-5
(Read Isaiah 16:1-5)
God tells sinners what they may do to prevent ruin; so he
does to Moab. Let them send the tribute they formerly engaged to pay to Judah.
Take it as good advice. Break off thy sins by righteousness
it may lengthen
thy quiet. And this may be applied to the great gospel duty of submission to
Christ. 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. Those who will not submit to Christ
shall be as a bird that wanders from
her nest
which shall be snatched up by the next bird of prey. Those who will
not yield to the fear of God
shall be made to yield to the fear of every thing
else. He advises them to be kind to the seed of Israel. Those that expect to
find favour when in trouble themselves
must show favour to those in trouble.
What is here said concerning the throne of Hezekiah
also belongs
in a much
higher sense
to the kingdom of Jesus Christ. Though by subjection to Him we
may not enjoy worldly riches or honours
but may be exposed to poverty and
contempt
we shall have peace of conscience and eternal life.
Commentary on Isaiah 16:6-14
(Read Isaiah 16:6-14)
Those who will not be counselled
cannot be helped. More
souls are ruined by pride than by any other sin whatever. Also
the very proud
are commonly very passionate. With lies many seek to gain the gratification of
pride and passion
but they shall not compass proud and angry projects. Moab
was famous for fields and vineyards; but they shall be laid waste by the
invading army. God can soon turn laughter into mourning
and joy into
heaviness. In God let us always rejoice with holy triumph; in earthly things
let us always rejoice with holy trembling. The prophet looks with concern on
the desolations of such a pleasant country; it causes inward grief. The false
gods of Moab are unable to help; and the God of Israel
the only true God
can
and will make good what he has spoken. Let Moab know her ruin is very near
and
prepare. The most awful declarations of Divine wrath
discover the way of escape
to those who take warning. There is no escape
but by submission to the Son of
David
and devoting ourselves to him. And
at length
when the appointed time
comes
all the glory
prosperity
and multitude of the wicked shall perish.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Isaiah》
Isaiah 16
Verse 1
[1] Send
ye the lamb to the ruler of the land from Sela to the wilderness
unto the
mount of the daughter of Zion.
Send —
The prophet continues his prophecy against Moab
and gives them counsel what to
do
to prevent
if possible
the desolation. Make your peace with God
by
sacrifice
for all your injuries done to him
and to his people.
Sela — An
eminent city of Moab
seated upon a rock.
Unto the mount —
Unto the temple upon mount Zion.
Verse 2
[2] For it shall be
that
as a wandering bird cast out of the nest
so the
daughters of Moab shall be at the fords of Arnon.
Cast out —
Which knows not whither to go.
Arnon —
Which was the border of the land of Moab
where they were
with design to flee
out of their land
tho' they knew not whither.
Verse 3
[3] Take
counsel
execute judgment; make thy shadow as the night in the midst of the
noonday; hide the outcasts; bewray not him that wandereth.
Take counsel —
Consider seriously what course to take.
Shadow —
Or
as the shadow of the night
large and dark
as the shadow of the earth is
in the night-season. Conceal and protect my people in the time of their
distress.
The out-casts —
Those of my people who are driven out of their land.
Wandereth —
Unto their enemies.
Verse 4
[4] Let
mine outcasts dwell with thee
Moab; be thou a covert to them from the face of
the spoiler: for the extortioner is at an end
the spoiler ceaseth
the
oppressors are consumed out of the land.
Mine out-casts —
Whom tho' I have sorely chastened
yet I own for my people.
At an end —
Shall shortly be destroyed
and then thou wilt not lose the fruit of thy
kindness. The present tense is put for the future.
Verse 5
[5] And in mercy shall the throne be established: and he shall sit upon it in
truth in the tabernacle of David
judging
and seeking judgment
and hasting
righteousness.
In mercy — By
my mercy. I am now punishing their sins
yet I will deliver them for my own
mercy's sake.
The throne —
The kingdom of Judah.
He — Their king.
In truth —
That is
firmly and constantly; for truth is often put for the stability and
certainty of a thing
as 2 Chronicles 32:1; Proverbs 11:18.
Tabernacle — ln
the house
or palace
which is called a tent
or tabernacle
with respect to
the unsettledness of David's house
which now indeed was more like a tabernacle
than a strong palace.
Seeking —
Searching out the truth of things with care and diligence.
Hasting —
Neither denying
nor yet delaying justice.
Verse 6
[6] We
have heard of the pride of Moab; he is very proud: even of his haughtiness
and
his pride
and his wrath: but his lies shall not be so.
We — The prophet having
spoken to the Moabites
now turns his speech to God's people. The sense is
I
do not expect that my counsels will have any good effect upon Moab; they will
still carry themselves insolently and outrageously.
His lies —
His vain imaginations
and false and crafty counsels
shall not take effect.
Verse 7
[7]
Therefore shall Moab howl for Moab
every one shall howl: for the foundations
of Kirhareseth shall ye mourn; surely they are stricken.
Moab —
One Moabite shall howl or lament to or for another.
Kirhareseth — An
ancient and eminent city of Moab
which was preserved when their other cities
were ruined
and therefore the destruction of it was more lamented.
Stricken —
Or
broken
overthrown or destroyed.
Verse 8
[8] For
the fields of Heshbon languish
and the vine of Sibmah: the lords of the
heathen have broken down the principal plants thereof
they are come even unto
Jazer
they wandered through the wilderness: her branches are stretched out
they are gone over the sea.
The lords —
The Assyrians or Chaldeans
the great rulers of the eastern nations.
Plants —
The choicest vines. Under which one particular he seems to understand
not only
all other fruits and goods
but even their choicest people.
They —
The lords of the heathen are come as far as Jazer
which is the utmost border
of Moab. Wandered - The Moabites fled for their lives
and wandered hither and
thither in the wilderness of Moab.
Branches —
Her people
called plants before.
Stretched —
Driven from their own homes
and dispersed into several countries.
The sea —
Over the Dead-sea
which was the border of Moab. They were forced to flee out
of their own country to save their lives.
Verse 9
[9]
Therefore I will bewail with the weeping of Jazer the vine of Sibmah: I will
water thee with my tears
O Heshbon
and Elealeh: for the shouting for thy
summer fruits and for thy harvest is fallen.
Sibmah — I
will bewail Sibmah
as I did bewail Jazer
which was destroyed before Sibmah.
Fallen —
Those joyful shouts which were customary in the time of harvest and vintage
shall cease.
Verse 10
[10] And
gladness is taken away
and joy out of the plentiful field; and in the
vineyards there shall be no singing
neither shall there be shouting: the
treaders shall tread out no wine in their presses; I have made their vintage
shouting to cease.
Treaders — In
those times they used to squeeze out the juice of their grapes by treading them
with their feet.
Verse 11
[11]
Wherefore my bowels shall sound like an harp for Moab
and mine inward parts
for Kirharesh.
My bowels — Thro'
compassion. In excessive grief
the bowels are sometimes rolled together
so as
to make an audible noise.
Verse 12
[12] And
it shall come to pass
when it is seen that Moab is weary on the high place
that he shall come to his sanctuary to pray; but he shall not prevail.
When —
When it shall appear that all their other devotions are vain.
His sanctuary — To
the temple of his great god Chemosh.
But —
His god can neither hear nor help him.
Verse 13
[13] This
is the word that the LORD hath spoken concerning Moab since that time.
Since —
Since the beginning of God's revelation to me concerning Moab
hitherto.
Verse 14
[14] But
now the LORD hath spoken
saying
Within three years
as the years of an
hireling
and the glory of Moab shall be contemned
with all that great
multitude; and the remnant shall be very small and feeble.
The Lord —
Hath made this farther discovery of his mind to me.
Three years —
This may well be understood of some great blow given to the Moabites
either by
Sennacherib
or his son Esarhaddon
from which notwithstanding they recovered
and flourished again 'till Nebuchadnezzar compleated their destruction.
Hireling —
Within three years precisely counted; for hirelings are very punctual in
observing the time for which they are hired.
The glory —
Their strength
and wealth
and other things in which they glory
shall be made
contemptible to those who formerly admired them.
With —
With the great numbers of their people
of which they boasted.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Isaiah》
16 Chapter 16
Verses 1-14
Verse 1
Send ye the lamb to the ruler of the land
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 (2 Kings 3:4; 2 Kings 3:25). During Ahab’s 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
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 (Isaiah 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.)
Verse 2
As a wandering bird
cast out of the nest
The unrest of the sinner
The picture represents the distress and bewilderment of the
wrong-doer.
He does not know whether to go back to the old door and knock at it in the hope
that it may be opened to him again by some kindly hand
or to flee away into
the land of darkness and silence. “There is no peace
saith my God
to the
wicked.” (J. Parker
D. D.)
Verse 4
Let Mine outcasts dwell with thee
Moab
God’s 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 Church’s 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 (Isaiah 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. God’s 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” (Isaiah 16:5). Sennacherib’s 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 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.)
Verse 5
In mercy shall the throne be established
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 God’s 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.)
Verse 12
He shall come to his sanctuary to pray
Fruitless supplications
This line in this dark picture reminds us of two fasts in the life
of the men of our own time
who see clearly the folly of idolatry.
I. IN TIMES OF
SORROW THEY ARE OFTEN SEEN IN THE SANCTUARY.
II. MANY OF THE
SUPPLICATIONS THAT ARE OFFERED IN THE SANCTUARY ARE OFFERED IN VAIN. How is
this to be explained? In such ways as these--
1. Many of the suppliants have little or no faith
and faith is the essential
condition of blessing.
2. Many of the suppliants are not really in earnest
and lukewarmness
is an offence to the Divine Being.
3. Many of the suppliants are not really penitent. (W. Manning.)
──《The Biblical Illustrator》