Commentary on the Old Testament Volume 2-4, Biblical commentary 7 · Isaiah · Chapter 24
CHAP. XXIV.
HEre saith Jerom, after destruction denounced to particular Nations, from Hieron.Chap. 13. hitherto, it is prophesied of the destruction of the whole world, and of the torments of the wicked, and the comforts of the faithfull. Thus also Ambros. de Elia & Jejunio cap. 21. and Lyra, &c. And here first this destruction is set forth vers. 1, 2, 3, 4. Secondly, The cause of it set down, vers. 5. &c. Thirdly, That but a few shall be saved from it, vers. 13, &c. with their joyes. Fourthly, The miseries of the wicked and straights then, vers. 17, &c. Fifthly, Their everlasting punishments after this v. 22. But Vatablus and some Vatablus.others think, that the judgements of God against the Jews after their crucifying of Christ, are here prophesied of. Calvin and Junius, &c. will have it to Calv. Junius. Muscul.be nothing but a capitulation of judgements going before against all the Nations about Judea, and against Iudea also, being before from Chap. 13. spoken of severally, now they are put together and further aggravated, some things being interlaced for the comfort of the faithfull, when the world should thus be as in a combustion. Lyra saith, That some apply them to Idumaea, against which he prophesied Chap. 21. but now having more to speak against that Countrey, he addeth it here: but let the whole context be considered, and there will be found no colour of reason for this, only Chap. 34. 5. Idumaea is in particular named, when the greatest judgement is threatned against all the wicked. And whereas it is most generally received, that the last judgement of the whole world is here prophesied of, it cannot be, because, as Calvin hath it, a flourishing estate of the Church is after this spoken of in this world. Neither may it be restrained to Iudea only, because v. 21. he threatneth the Kings of the earth. Yet I cannot see but that all which is said, untill v. 21. may well be applied to the Land of Iudea, prophesied against before Ch. 22. because he saith, ver. 2. it shall be with the people as with the Priest, and vers. 5. he alledgeth this as the cause, that they had changed the Ordinances and broken the Covenant, and vers. 13. speaks of a remnant escaping, who should rejoyce, which properly belong all to Israel, and not to other Nations. Neither doth he any where inveigh against others for drunkenness but Israel, as here vers. 7, 8, 11. implicitly, as he also did Chap. 5. and doth Chap. 28. I conceive therefore that the Prophet not having spoken all that which he had to say against Iudah and Israel, and other Nations round about before threatned, resumeth the same kinds of argument again, that the hearers might be the more moved to fear and repent, beginning first with Iudah. 2. Proceeding to other Kings, v. 21. 3. Declaring joyfull things to Iudah, for which they should praise the Lord, vers. 23. and Chap. 25. 26. 4. The destruction of Leviathan, whereby the mightiest enemies of the Jews seem to be understood, Ch. 27. 1, 12, 13. for which again a song of praise. 5. He inveigheth against Israel for his sins, threatning destruction therefore Chap. 28. 6. Against Iudah again under the name of Ariel, Chap. 29. and 30. in both after judgements prophesying of mercy. 7. Against Assria, Chap. 30. 31. and some reproof against Iudah coming between, and comfort, Chap. 31. 8, 9. the threatning against Assyria is again renewed. 8. He prophesieth mixedly of joyfull and terrible things to Gods people, Chap. 32. and 33. 9. Putting all the enemies of Gods people together, he threatneth them with destruction in more terrible words, Chap. 34. Lastly, He speaketh of the most happy and joyfull condition of the Jews, being converted to the faith of Christ, Chap. 35.
Behold the Lord emptying the earth, making it naked, changing the face of it, Vers. 1.&c. All which may be seen in the Prophecies before-going, for the earth was then emptied, when the goods of all the Nations round about were made a prey to their enemies, and made naked when their houses and wals were broken and burnt down, and the face changed, when of free they were made servile, and the inhabitants dispersed] when captived. Jerom who seeks to adapt Hieron.all this to the destruction of the whole world, understands the dispersing of the inhabitants, some to places of torment, and some of joy, but taking it for the emptying of the Land where Priests were, and the Law, that is, of Iudea, is most agreeable to v. 2. and v. 5.
And it shall be like Priest like people, &c. This is spoken, to shew, that if Vers. 2.any should think for their riches or superiority, or their most holy function, to escape better then inferiour persons, they were much deceived: for all degrees should suffer and be abased alike, when Gods judgements should come. And indeed, as Musculus hath it, sin and unworthy walking in any office abaseth Muscul.such an officer or superiour, so as that now he is no more to be accounted of for his office, but amongst the most infim and basest sort of men. For it is not said, An elder is worthy of double honour, but, that rules well, if not, then he ought to have no honour at all, but to be used, as the basest sort, agreeable to which is that saying of Jerom, Virtus ubique honoretur, vitium ubique deturpetur, In Jac. 2.Let virtue be honoured in whomsoever, and vice debased in whomsoever; but Kings are still alwayes to be excepted, whom we are bidden to honour without this condition, as where it is said, Fear God, honour the King, 2 Pet. 2▪ 17. and children their parents, as Shem and Iaphet did, as in whom is a greater Image of divine Majesty.
The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof, &c. The word foreign here Vers. 5.used hath divers significations besides defiling, as to be impious, to deal wickedly, to be condemned or punished: Wherefore Vatablus noteth, That divers Vatabl.do render it diversly. But because vers. 6. he saith, A curse hath consumed the earth, it is plain, that the best rendring of it is, The earth is punished, for according to this it is said Ier. 23. 10. The Land mourns because of swearing; see also Hos. 4. 3. Because they have transgressed the Laws, &c. The Laws were the ten Commandments, the Ordinances those of circumcising, sacrificing, &c. the Covenant, that made with Abraham, whereby it appears, that this Prophecie pertained to the Jews, and so doth all that followeth even to vers. 13. for Ierusalem, saith Calvin, was the City of vanity, which should now be brought to this misery.
There shall be as the shaking of an Olive-tree. The Septuagint, As if one should Vers. 13.shake an Olive-tree, so they shall shake them] Neither according to the Hebrew nor the sense, which is, that when Iudea shall be so judged, a very few shall be saved according to Chap. 1. 9, 10, 20. But the saved shall have joy, and praise God, Vers. 14, 15.
But I said (O my leannesse, my leannesse) Vulgar Latine, Secretum meum Vers. 16. Hieronym.mihi. Which Ierom expoundeth, as if it had been said, It strikes me with extream sorrow to see, as I do by the Spirit of prophecie, what a wonderfull great number shall in the end be destroyed for ever, they are so many, that I cannot utter it, therefore I must keep this secret to my self. Cald. Paraphrast. Cald. Paraphra.The secret of the reward of the just is revealed unto me, and the secret of revenge] But they say thus, presuming that the last judgement is here prophesied of. But Hebr. it is, My leannesse, for so foreign signifieth, and not secret, although foreign a Caldee word signifieth secret. And he meaneth leannesse by continual grief in foreseeing the judgements to come upon his people; so Junius. But Calvin Junius. Calvin.having first gone upon the same exposition, finally preferreth that, rendring it secret within, conceiving that in thus saying he laments the troubles and dissentions within the Church after all the former judgements, and only a few reserved, which stand for the true faith, which is most to be lamented of all other judgements, that there should be digladiations of the godly amongst themselves, That there should be intestine enemies, and domestical, which the Intestinos & domesticos hostes Ecclesia nec fugere potest, nec fugare.Church can neither flee from, nor put to flight. This indeed may se…m very plausible, but it is too farre, the word neither signifying secret, having added to it, which as Rab. Ioseph noteth, is not an affix here, but a radical letter, which appears by the next particle foreign, neither thus taken doth it agree with the following words, wherein he crieth out against transgressours and wicked men, which caused all this misery, and his sorrow therefore, as in the next words, the treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously. &c. where the same word foreign is used five times, and hereby are set forth not simple but malicious and obstinate transgressors.
Fear and the pit and the snare are upon thee: This also as the words before-going Vers. 17.is spoken to the Jews, although it be said, thou inhabitant of the earth, for it may as well be rendred, of the Land, that is, of Judea, although Musculus Musculus.preferres the taking of it as spoken to all the Nations together before threatned, but because he comes not manifestly to others till vers. 21. it seems not so good to make any disjoyning of those words from the former, as he doth. The Prophet having complained in the former words of mens intolerable wickednesse, after comfort spoken to the faithfull, ver. 14, 15. here sheweth into what miseries they should fall, that they might not take any comfort from that which was said before of their exceeding great joies, but be dismaied at their own fearfull condition. And he sets it forth by wilde beasts before the Hunters, for as the Hounds coming abroad they fear and run, and such as so escape tearing in pieces fall into pits made to take them, and such as are not so taken, run unawares into a snare or net, so he sheweth that it should be with the wicked Jews: See the same Jer. 48. 43, 44. And in this case the hand of God Note. is manifestly shewed against those, that having escaped one danger, cease not, neither are long free from another, and a third, till they be confounded, that they may be moved by the first and second at the least to repent, and not harden themselves till the coming of the third.
For the windows from on high are open, &c. Some saith Calvin, think that it Vers. 18.is here alluded to the floud in Noahs time, and so do I think also, because the same phrase is used, and the destruction of all, none escaping, whithersoever they fled, could not more aptly be set forth then by that, lest any should bear themselves upon such an hope. For how should they escape that when they climbe up aloft have the windows of heaven open to let out judgements upon them, and if they think to be hid in any cave of the earth, have the foundations thereof shaken against them? Neither doth Calvin when he hath declined Calvin.this, speak to any other but the same effect, that all the powers above and beneath shall be moved against them to their destruction.
The earth is utterly broken down, &c. That is, The judgement coming, which Vers. 19.is here threaned against Judea, shall not only hunt the wicked to destruction, but as when the foundation of the earth is shaken by an earthquake, many buildings sometimes also fall, and the earth is rent asunder in some places, filling all men with terrour, so by the enemies before threatned to be sent against them, should their Land, their Temple, and goodly buildings, being brought to ruinous heaps. And he varies the phrase four times. The earth is clean dissolved, Vers. 20.moved exceedingly: Vers. 20. Tossed too and fro and removed, in which strain of eloquence, saith Calvin, he goeth on prosecuting the allegory from Calvin.the earth begun, ver. 18. not out of any affectation of shewing his Rhetorick, but to affect mens dull mindes the more with fear before the Lord, whom a little speaking will not move, that if by all this they were not moved, they might be left without excuse. And for this cause should we Preachers be instant, Note. and presse our admonitions and threatnings home against the wicked, as being the way of Gods Spirit speaking by his Prophets, not forbearing through faint-heartednesse, nor languishing through lukewarmnesse: Rev. 3. 18. In saying that the earth shall reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, he means neither by this nor the words following, the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it, and it shall fall and not rise again, and it shall be removed as a cottage: That the frame of the whole earth shall be thus, as at the last day, though some take it so, who have been before confuted, but the carrying of the Jews into captivity, and the removing of Israel into other countreys, Heathens being brought from thence to inhabit in their Land, as 2 King. 17. as a cottage or Tent is to lodge in for a while, and then is removed, and as a drunken man by reason of a giddinesse possessing his brain, being carried hither and thither, knows not where he is, no more should they, because they were carried into countries which they never saw before, thus by the earth synechdochically, the inhabitants being meant, with whom God was so highly offended for their abominations.
God will punish the host of high ones, and the Kings of the earth, &c. Divers Vers. 21. Calvin.Expositions are here brought by divers. 1. Some saith Calvin, think the first words to be spoken of the Sun, Moon, and Stars, which are the host on high. 2. Some of the devils, because Eph. 6. 12. they are called powers in heavenly places. 3. Some of the Jews, who were by Gods singular favours towards them made higher then other Nations, whence their Land is called the high places of the earth, Isa. 58. 14. for this last is Vatablus, yet Calvin holds rather, that none Vatabl.other are meant then kings, who are of the highest dignity: and that the next words and the Kings of the earth, are only exegeticall, it being only declared by them, who were meant by the high ones. Vatablus also saith, as the expositions are divers, so be the readings, some rendring it, the Lord will visit the host of the high ones on high, some exercitum superorum in supernis. Sept. The Lord will bring his hand upon the ornament of heaven. But they are Heb. the Lord will visit on high the host on high: whereby I think it best with Vatablus to understand the Jews hitherto pointed at for the reason before going, and in the next words the Kings of other Nations round about in the foregoing chapters threatned in particular as well as they. For if the next words of Kings were only exegeticall, the conjunction foreign were superfluous, and the word foreign hitherto used to set forth the Land or earth, were causlesly varied here into foreign in naming the Kings of the earth on the earth. Others then be manifestly meant here, and not the same which were spoken of before, because the Kings of the earth on the earth are opposed to the high host on high, that is, most probably, Gods peculiar people: but now for the most part degenerated through sin, yet thus set forth in respect of that which they were, even an high host on high, as the faithfull under the Gospel are said to sit together with Christ in heavenly places. So that here the excellency of the faithfull, whom Eph. 2. 6.God hath peculiarly chosen, even above Kings in this world is set forth, Note. these are but Kings of the earth on earth, those Kings or high ones on high, 1 Pet. 2. 9. Col. 3. 1. Phil. 3, 20.elevated by grace above an earthly condition, at the least in their mindes, to heaven above.
And they shall be gathered together as prisoners in the pit, &c. heb. they shall be Vers. 22.gathered, the gatherd being bound in a pit, that is, being through the judgement of God against them taken captive and bound with fetters of iron by their enemies, and imprisoned, for the word also signifyeth a prison, if it be rendred a pit, a dungeon is meant. And hereby is shewed to what misery even kings rebelling against God, are sometimes brought, though not all, for some are slain, and so their imprisoning is prevented. And what an abasement is this Note. to a king, to go from the throne to the dungeon, that they may learn to serve Psal. 2.the Lord in humility and fear in this their elevated condition, lest not doing so, but proudly domineering they be brought thus low? Sasbont and others, Sasbont, &c.that follow Jerom, by the gathered into the pit, understand both devils and wicked kings spoken of, ver, 21. for by devils they expound the host of the high ones on high, and accordingly they say, that by the pit is meant the bottomlesse pit, and whereas it is added, after many daies they shall be visited, it is meant with punishments made more grievous. Origen, who by the high host understands Origen.the Sun, Moon, and Stars, saith, that they having wicked souls tied unto them, be cast into this pit, but after a long time be released again, as all the damned shall be. But this grosse errour is by all the Orthodox long ago cried down as contrary to the truth, which saith, these shall go into everlasting fire, and Isa. 66. their worm never dies, and their fire never goeth out. Haimo expounds their visiting after many daies thus, they shall be visited in their bodies at the Haimo.time of the resurrection being joyned again unto, and tormented with their bodies. Lyra, after many daies past, since their sins were committed, they Lyra. Hieronym.shall suffer in hell therefore. Jerom the time of many daies being past they shall be visited, that is, punished still forth on for ever and ever. Some applying both these verses to the Jews in the Romans time, and the Romans who destroied them, the Jews being the high ones, the Romans the Kings of the earth, say, that the high ones were then visited, when the Jews and their city were destroied by the Romans, and the Romans when after a long time of persecuting the Church in Constantines time their idolatry was put down, at what time Satan was bound up a thousand years, and after this long time they shall be visited again by the coming of Antichrist. But going according to the exposition hitherto followed, here will be no place for any of these conjectures, and the last words which are hardest to be understood, will be made plain thus, when the people of God have long suffered the grievous things before spoken of, they shall be visited with mercy again, and so vers. 23. agreeth excellently.
The Moon shall be abashed and the Sun confounded, when the Lord shall reign in Zion: for if the judgements before-going be referred to the last day, how Vers. 23.shall the Lord reign gloriously in Zion? for then he shall no more reign in any part of the earth but in heaven for ever, the earth being destroied, But understanding this visiting of the Jews after their great punishments, of Gods visiting them in mercy, as after their 70 years captivity, by bringing them home again, or rather of his visiting them after their farre longer dispersion since the time of the Gospel to convert them to the Christian faith, and so to reduce them and make them to live in their own countrey in more prosperity then ever, nothing could be spoken more aptly to set this forth, it being such a glorious condition as that the glory of the Moon or Sun were nothing to it. And upon this doth Calvin also touch a little, although he first expounds Calv.it of punishments, continuing after many daies upon the wicked, that they might not feed themselves with hope of being soon delivered, although their miseries for a time should be most grievous. It may also be extended to some kings of other Nations before spoken of, and their kingdoms: for so it is ch. 23. concluded touching Tyre, and some others, as will appear to him that shall reade, chap. 15, 16, 17. &c.