This chapter, and the four next that follow it (to chap. xiii.) are all
one continued discourse or sermon, the scope of which is to show the
great destruction that should now shortly be brought upon the kingdom
of Israel, and the great disturbance that should be given to the
kingdom of Judah by the king of Assyria, and that both were for their
sins; but rich provision is made of comfort for those that feared God
in those dark times, referring especially to the days of the Messiah.
In this chapter we have,
I. A prophecy of the destruction of the confederate kingdoms of Syria
and Israel by the king of Assyria,
Isaiah 8:1-4.
II. Of the desolations that should be made by that proud victorious
prince in the land of Israel and Judah,
Isaiah 8:5-8.
III. Great encouragement given to the people of God in the midst of
those distractions; they are assured,
1. That the enemies shall not gain their point against them,
Isaiah 8:9,10.
2. That if they kept up the fear of God, and kept down the fear of
man, they should find God their refuge
(Isaiah 8:11-14),
and while others stumbled, and fell into despair, they should be
enabled to wait on God, and should see themselves reserved for better
times,
Isaiah 8:15-18.
Lastly, He gives a necessary caution to all, at their peril, not to
consult with familiar spirits, for they would thereby throw themselves
into despair, but to keep close to the word of God,
Isaiah 8:19-22.
And these counsels and these comforts will still be of use to us in
time of trouble.
Judgments Announced.
B. C. 740.
1 Moreover the LORD said unto me, Take thee a great roll, and
write in it with a man's pen concerning Maher-shalal-hash-baz.
2 And I took unto me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the
priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.
3 And I went unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and bare a
son. Then said the LORD to me, Call his name
Maher-shalal-hash-baz.
4 For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father,
and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria
shall be taken away before the king of Assyria.
5 The LORD spake also unto me again, saying,
6 Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloah that
go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah's son;
7 Now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the
waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria,
and all his glory: and he shall come up over all his channels,
and go over all his banks:
8 And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go
over, he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out
of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel.
In these verses we have a prophecy of the successes of the king of
Assyria against Damascus, Samaria, and Judah, that the two former
should be laid waste by him, and the last greatly frightened. Here we
have,
I. Orders given to the prophet to write this prophecy, and publish it
to be seen and read of all men, and to leave it upon record, that when
the thing came to pass they might know that God had sent him; for that
was one end of prophecy,
John 14:29.
He must take a great roll, which would contain those five
chapters fairly written in words at length; and he must write in it all
that he had foretold concerning the king of Assyria's invading the
country; he must write it with a man's pen, in the usual way and
style of writing, so as that it might be legible and intelligible by
all. See
Habakkuk 2:2,
Write the vision, and make it plain. Those that speak and write
of the things of God should avoid obscurity, and study to speak and
write so as to be understood,
1 Corinthians 14:19.
Those that write for men should write with a man's pen, and not covet
the pen or tongue of angels. And forasmuch as it is usual to put some
short, but significant comprehensive title before books that are
published, the prophet is directed to call his book
Maher-shalal-hash-baz--Make speed to the spoil, hasten to the
prey, intimating that the Assyrian army should come upon them with
great speed and make great spoil. By this title the substance and
meaning of the book would be enquired after by those that heard of it,
and remembered by those that had read it or heard it read. It is
sometimes a good help to memory to put much matter in few words, which
serve as handles by which we take hold of more.
II. The care of the prophet to get this record well attested
(Isaiah 8:2):
I took unto me faithful witnesses to record; he wrote the
prophecy in their sight and presence, and made them subscribe their
names to it, that they might be ready, if afterwards there should be
occasion, to make oath of it, that the prophet had so long before
foretold the descent which the Assyrians made upon that country. He
names his witnesses for the greater certainty, that they might be
appealed to by any. They were two in number (for out of the mouth of
two witnesses shall every word be established); one was Uriah the
priest; he is mentioned in the story of Ahaz, but for none of his good
deeds, for he humoured Ahaz with an idolatrous altar
(2 Kings 16:10,11);
however, at this time, no exception lay against him, being a faithful
witness. See what full satisfaction the prophets took care to give to
all persons concerned of the sincerity of their intentions, that we
might know with a full assurance the certainty of the things wherein
we have been instructed, and that we have not followed
cunningly-devised fables.
III. The making of the title of his book the name of his child, that it
might be the more taken notice of and the more effectually perpetuated,
Isaiah 8:3.
His wife (because the wife of a prophet) is called the
prophetess; she conceived and bore a son, another son, who
must carry a sermon in his name, as the former had done
(Isaiah 7:3),
but with this difference, that spoke mercy, Shear-jashub--The remnant
shall return; but, that being slighted, this speaks judgment,
Maher-shalal-hash-baz--In making speed to the spoil he shall
hasten, or he has hastened, to the prey. The prophecy is
doubled, even in this one name, for the thing was certain. I will
hasten my word,
Jeremiah 1:12.
Every time the child was called by his name, or any part of it, it
would serve as a memorandum of the judgments approaching. Note, It is
good for us often to put ourselves in mind of the changes and troubles
we are liable to in this world, and which perhaps are at the door. When
we look with pleasure on our children it should be with the allay of
this thought, We know not what they are yet reserved for.
IV. The prophecy itself, which explains this mystical name.
1. That Syria and Israel, who were now in confederacy against Judah,
should in a very little time become an easy prey to the king of Assyria
and his victorious army
(Isaiah 8:4):
"Before the child, now newly born and named, shall have
knowledge to cry, My father, and My mother" (which are usually
some of the first things that children know and some of the first words
that children speak), that is, "in about a year or two, the riches
of Damascus, and the spoil of Samaria, those cities that are now so
secure themselves and so formidable to their neighbours, shall be
taken away before the king of Assyria, who shall plunder both city
and country, and send the best effects of both into his own land, to
enrich that, and as trophies of his victory." Note, Those that spoil
others must expect to be themselves spoiled
(Isaiah 33:1);
for the Lord is righteous, and those that are troublesome shall be
troubled.
2. That forasmuch as there were many in Judah that were secretly in the
interests of Syria and Israel, and were disaffected to the house of
David, God would chastise them also by the king of Assyria, who should
create a great deal of vexation to Judah, as was foretold,
Isaiah 7:17.
Observe,
(1.) What was the sin of the discontented party in Judah
(Isaiah 8:6):
This people, whom the prophet here speaks to, refuse the
waters of Shiloah that go softly, despise their own country and the
government of it, and love to run it down, because it does not make so
great a figure, and so great a noise, in the world, as some other kings
and kingdoms do. They refuse the comforts which God's prophets offer
them from the word of God, speaking to them in a still small voice, and
make nothing of them; but they rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah's
son, who were the enemies of their country, and were now actually
invading it; they cried them up as brave men, magnified their policies
and strength, applauded their conduct, were well pleased with their
successes, and were hearty well-wishers to their designs, and resolved
to desert and go over to them. Such vipers does many a state foster in
its bosom, that eat its bread, and yet adhere to its enemies, and are
ready to quit its interests if they but seem to totter.
(2.) The judgment which God would bring upon them for this sin. The
same king of Assyria that should lay Ephraim and Syria waste should be
a scourge and terror to those of their party in Judah,
Isaiah 8:7,8.
Because they refuse the waters of Shiloah, and will not
accommodate themselves to the government God has set over them, but are
uneasy under it, therefore the Lord brings upon them the waters of
the river, strong and many, the river Euphrates. They slighted the
land of Judah, because it had no river to boast of comparable to that;
the river at Jerusalem was a very inconsiderable one. "Well," says God,
"if you be such admirers of Euphrates, you shall have enough of it; the
king of Assyria, whose country lies upon that river, shall come with
his glory, with his great army, which you cry up as his glory,
despising your own king because he cannot bring such an army as that
into the field; God shall bring that army upon you." If we value men,
if we over-value them, for their worldly wealth and power, it is just
with God to make them thereby a scourge to us. It is used as an
argument against magnifying rich men that rich men oppress us,
James 2:3,5.
Let us be best pleased with the waters of Shiloah, that go softly, for
rapid streams are dangerous. It is threatened that the Assyrian army
should break in upon them like a deluge, or inundation of waters,
bearing down all before it, should come up over all his channels, and
overflow all his banks. It would be to no purpose to oppose or
withstand them. Sennacherib and his army should pass through Judah, and
meet with so little resistance that it should look more like a march
through the country than a descent upon it. He shall reach even to
the neck, that is, he shall advance so far as to lay siege to
Jerusalem, the head of the kingdom, and nothing but that shall be kept
out of his hands; for that was the holy city. Note, In the greatest
deluge of trouble God can and will keep the head of his people above
water, and so preserve their comforts and spiritual lives; the waters
that come into their souls may reach to the neck
(Psalms 69:1),
but there shall their proud waves be stayed. And here is another
comfortable intimation that though the stretching out of the wings of
the Assyrian, that bird of prey, though the right and left wing of his
army, should fill the breadth of the land of Judah, yet still it was
Immanuel's land. It is thy land, O Immanuel! It was to be
Christ's land; for there he was to be born, and live, and preach, and
work miracles. He was Zion's King, and therefore had a peculiar
interest in and concern for that land. Note, The lands that Immanuel
owns for his, as he does all those lands that own him, though they may
be deluged, shall not be destroyed; for, when the enemy shall come
in like a flood, Immanuel shall secure his own, and shall lift
up a standard against him,
Isaiah 59:19.
Judah's Encouragement.
B. C. 740.
9 Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in
pieces; and give ear, all ye of far countries: gird yourselves,
and ye shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye shall
be broken in pieces.
10 Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak
the word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us.
11 For the LORD spake thus to me with a strong hand, and
instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people,
saying,
12 Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people
shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be
afraid.
13 Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and let him be your
fear, and let him be your dread.
14 And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of
stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel,
for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
15 And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken,
and be snared, and be taken.
The prophet here returns to speak of the present distress that Ahaz and
his court and kingdom were in upon account of the threatening
confederacy of the ten tribes and the Syrians against them. And in
these verses,
I. He triumphs over the invading enemies, and, in effect, sets them at
defiance, and bids them do their worst
(Isaiah 8:9,10):
"O you people, you of far countries, give ear to what the
prophet says to you in God's name."
1. "We doubt not but you will now make your utmost efforts against
Judah and Jerusalem. You associate yourselves in a strict
alliance. You gird yourselves, and again you gird
yourselves; you prepare for action; you address yourselves to it
with resolution; you gird on your swords; you gird up your loins. You
animate and encourage yourselves and one another with all the
considerations you can think of: you take counsel together, call
councils of war, and all heads are at work about the proper methods for
making yourselves masters of the land of Judah. You speak the
word; you come to resolutions concerning it, and are not always
deliberating; you determine what to do, and are very confident of the
success of it, that the matter will be accomplished with a word's
speaking." Note, It is with a great deal of policy, resolution, and
assurance, that the church's enemies carry on their designs against it;
and abundance of pains they take to roll a stone that will certainly
return upon them.
2. "This is to let you know that all your efforts will be ineffectual.
You cannot, you shall not, gain your point, nor carry the day: You
shall be broken in pieces. Though you associate yourselves, though
you gird yourselves, though you proceed with all the policy and
precaution imaginable, yet, I tell you again and again, all your
projects shall be baffled, you shall be broken in pieces. Nay,
not only shall your attempts be ruined, but your attempts shall be your
ruin; you shall be broken by those designs you have formed against
Jerusalem: Your counsels shall come to nought; for there is no
wisdom nor counsel against the Lord. Your resolves will not be put in
execution; they shall not stand. You speak the word, but who is he
that saith, and it cometh to pass, if the Lord commandeth it not?
What sets up itself against God, and his cause and counsel, cannot
stand, but must inevitably fall. For God is with us" (this
refers to the name of Immanuel--God with us); "the Messiah is to
be born among us, and a people designed for such an honour cannot be
given up to utter ruin. We have now the special presence of God with us
in his temple, his oracles, his promises, and these are our defence.
God is with us; he is on our side, to take our part and fight for us;
and, if God be for us, who can be against us?" Thus does the
daughter of Zion despise them.
II. He comforts and encourages the people of God with the same comforts
and encouragements which he himself had received. The attempt made upon
them was very formidable; the house of David, the court and royal
family, were at their wits' end
(Isaiah 7:2),
and then no marvel if the people were in a consternation. Now,
1. The prophet tells us how he was himself taught of God not to give
way to such amazing fears as the people were disturbed with, nor to run
into the same measures with them
(Isaiah 8:11):
"The Lord spoke to me with a strong hand not to walk in the way of
this people, not to say as they say nor do as they do, not to
entertain the same frightful apprehensions of things nor to approve of
their projects of making peace upon any terms, or calling in the help
of the Assyrians." God instructed the prophet not to go down the
stream. Note,
(1.) There is a proneness in the best of men to be frightened at
threatening clouds, especially when fears are epidemic. We are all too
apt to walk in the way of the people we live among, though it be not a
good way.
(2.) Those whom God loves and owns he will instruct and enable to swim
against the stream of common corruptions, particularly of common fears.
He will find ways to teach his own people not to walk in the way of
other people, but in a sober singularity.
(3.) Corruption is sometimes so active in the hearts even of good men
that they have need to be taught their duty with a strong hand, and it
is God's prerogative to teach so, for he only can give an understanding
and overpower the contradiction of unbelief and prejudice. He can teach
the heart; and herein none teaches like him.
(4.) Those that are to teach others have need to be themselves well
instructed in their duty, and then they teach most powerfully when they
teach experimentally. The word that comes from the heart is most likely
to reach to the heart; and what we are ourselves by the grace of God
instructed in we should, as we are able, teach others also.
2. Now what is it that he says to God's people?
(1.) He cautions them against a sinful fear,
Isaiah 8:12.
It seems it was the way of this people at this time, and fear is
catching. He whose heart fails him makes his brethren's heart to fail,
like his heart
(Deuteronomy 20:8);
therefore Say you not, A confederacy, to all those to whom this
people shall say, A confederacy; that is,
[1.] "Be not associated with them in the confederacies they are
projecting and forecasting for. Do not join with those that, for the
securing of themselves, are for making a league with the Assyrians,
through unbelief, and distrust of God and their cause. Do not come into
any such confederacy." Note, It concerns us, in time of trouble, to
watch against all such fears as put us upon taking any indirect courses
for our own security.
[2.] "Be not afraid of the confederacies they frighten themselves and
one another with. Do not distress yourselves with the apprehension of a
confederacy upon every thing that stirs, nor, when any little thing is
amiss, cry out presently, There is a plot, a plot. When they talk what
dismal news there is, Syria is joined with Ephraim, what will
become of us? must we fight, or must we flee, or must we yield? do not
you fear their fear: Be not afraid of the signs of heaven, as
the heathen are,
Jeremiah 10:2.
Be not afraid of evil tidings on earth, but let your hearts be fixed.
Fear not that which they fear, nor be afraid as they are. Be not put
into such a fright as causes trembling and shaking;" so the word
signifies. Note, When the church's enemies have sinful confederacies on
foot the church's friends should watch against the sinful fears of
those confederacies.
(2.) He advises them to a gracious religious fear: But sanctify the
Lord of hosts himself,
Isaiah 8:13.
Note, The believing fear of God is a special preservative against the
disquieting fear of man; see
1 Peter 3:14,15,
where this is quoted, and applied to suffering Christians.
[1.] We must look upon God as the Lord of hosts, that has all power in
his hand and all creatures at his beck.
[2.] We must sanctify him accordingly, give him the glory due to that
name, and behave towards him as those that believe him to be a holy
God.
[3.] We must make him our fear, the object of our fear, and make him
our dread, keep up a reverence of his providence and stand in awe of
his sovereignty, be afraid of his displeasure and silently acquiesce in
all his disposals. Were we but duly affected with the greatness and
glory of God, we should see the pomp of our enemies eclipsed and
clouded, and all their power restrained and under check; see
Nehemiah 4:14.
Those that are afraid of the reproach of men forget the Lord their
Maker,
Isaiah 51:12,13.
Compare
Luke 12:4,5.
(3.) He assures them of a holy security and serenity of mind in so
doing
(Isaiah 8:14):
"He shall be for a sanctuary; make him your fear, and you shall
find him your hope, your help, your defence, and your mighty deliverer.
He will sanctify and preserve you. He will be for a sanctuary,"
[1.] "To make you holy. He will be your sanctification;" so some read
it. If we sanctify God by our praises, he will sanctify us by his
grace.
[2.] "To make you easy. He will be your sanctuary," to which you may
flee for safety, and where you are privileged form all the arrests of
fear; you shall find an inviolable refuge and security in him, and see
yourselves our of the reach of danger. Those that truly fear God shall
not need to fear any evil.
III. He threatens the ruin of the ungodly and unbelieving, both in
Judah and Israel. They have no part nor lot in the foregoing comforts;
that God who will be a sanctuary to those who trust in him will be a
stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, to those who leave these
waters of Shiloah, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah's son,
(Isaiah 8:6),
who make the creature their fear and their hope,
Isaiah 8:14,15.
The prophet foresees that the greatest part of both the houses of
Israel would not sanctify the Lord of hosts, and to them he
would be for a gin and a snare; he would be a terror to them, as
he would be a support and stay to those that trusted in him. Instead of
profiting by the word of God, they should be offended at it; and the
providences of God, instead of leading them to him, would drive them
from him. What was a savour of life unto life to others would be a
savour of death unto death to them. "So that many among them shall
stumble and fall; they shall fall both into sin and into ruin; they
shall fall by the sword, shall be taken prisoners, and go into
captivity." Note, If the things of God be an offence to us, they will
be an undoing to us. Some apply this to the unbelieving Jews, who
rejected Christ, and to whom he became a stone of stumbling; for the
apostle quotes this scripture with application to all those who
persisted in their unbelief of the gospel of Christ
(1 Peter 2:8);
to them he is a rock of offence, because, being disobedient to the
word, they stumble at it.
The Importance of the Scriptures.
B. C. 740.
16 Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.
17 And I will wait upon the LORD, that hideth his face from the
house of Jacob, and I will look for him.
18 Behold, I and the children whom the LORD hath given me are
for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, which
dwelleth in mount Zion.
19 And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have
familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter:
should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the
dead?
20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according
to this word, it is because there is no light in them.
21 And they shall pass through it, hardly bestead and hungry:
and it shall come to pass, that when they shall be hungry, they
shall fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, and
look upward.
22 And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and
darkness, dimness of anguish; and they shall be driven to
darkness.
In these verses we have,
I. The unspeakable privilege which the people of God enjoy in having
the oracles of God consigned over to them, and being entrusted with the
sacred writings. That they may sanctify the Lord of hosts, may make him
their fear and find him their sanctuary, bind up the testimony,
Isaiah 8:16.
Note, It is a great instance of God's care of his church and love to it
that he has lodged in it the invaluable treasure of divine revelation.
1. It is a testimony and a law; not only this prophecy is
so, which must therefore be preserved safely for the comfort of God's
people in the approaching times of trouble and distress, but the whole
word of God is so; God has attested it, and he has enjoined it. As a
testimony it directs our faith; as a law it directs our practice; and
we ought both to subscribe to the truths of it and to submit to the
precepts of it.
2. This testimony and this law are bound up and sealed, for we are not
to add to them nor diminish from them; they are a letter from God to
man, folded up and sealed, a proclamation under the broad seal. The
binding up and sealing of the Old Testament signified that the full
explication of many of the prophecies of it was reserved for the
New-Testament times.
Daniel 12:4,
Seal the book till the time of the end; but what was then bound
up and sealed is now open and unsealed, and revealed unto babes,
Matthew 11:25.
Yet with reference to the other world, and the future state, still the
testimony is bound up and sealed, for we know but in part, and prophesy
but in part.
3. They are lodged as a sacred deposit in the hands of the disciples
of the children of the prophets and the covenant,
Acts 3:25.
This is the good thing which is committed to them, and which they are
charged with the custody of,
2 Timothy 1:13,14.
Those that had prophets for their tutors must still keep close to the
written word.
II. The good use which we ought to make of this privilege. This we are
taught,
1. By the prophet's own practice and resolutions,
Isaiah 8:17,18.
He embraced the law ad the testimony, and he had the comfort of them,
in the midst of the many discouragements he met with. Note, Those
ministers can best recommend the word of God to others that have
themselves found the satisfaction of relying upon it. Observe,
(1.) The discouragements which the prophet laboured under. He specifies
two:--
[1.] The frowns of God, not so much upon himself, but upon his people,
whose interests lay very near his heart: "He hides his face from the
house of Jacob, and seems at present to neglect them, and lay them
under the tokens of his displeasure." The prophet was himself employed
in revealing God's wrath against them, and yet grieved thus for it, as
one that did not desire the woeful day. If the house of Jacob forsake
the God of Jacob, let it not be thought strange that he hides his face
from them.
[2.] The contempt and reproaches of men, not only upon himself, but
upon his disciples, among whom the law and the testimony were sealed:
I and the children whom the Lord has given me are for signs and
wonders; we are gazed at as monsters or outlandish people, pointed
at as we go along the streets. Probably the prophetical names that were
given to his children were ridiculed and bantered by the profane
scoffers of the town. I am as a wonder unto many,
Psalms 71:7.
God's people are the world's wonder
(Zechariah 3:8)
for their singularity, and because they run not with them to the same
excess of riot,
1 Peter 4:4.
The prophet was herein a type of Christ; for this is quoted
(Hebrews 2:13)
to prove that believers are Christ's children: Behold, I and the
children whom God has given me. Parents must look upon their
children as God's gifts, his gracious gifts; Jacob did so,
Genesis 33:5.
Ministers must look upon their converts as their children, and be
tender of them accordingly
(1 Thessalonians 2:7),
and as the children whom God has given them; for, whatever good we are
instrumental of to others, it is owing to the grace of God. Christ
looks upon believers as his children, whom the Father gave him
(John 17:6),
and both he and they are for signs and wonders, spoken against
(Luke 2:34),
every where spoken against,
Acts 28:22.
(2.) The encouragement he took in reference to these discouragements.
[1.] He saw the hand of God in all that which was discouraging to him,
and kept his eye upon that. Whatever trouble the house of Jacob is in,
it comes from God's hiding his face; nay, whatever contempt was put
upon him or his friends, it is from the Lord of hosts; he has bidden
Shimei curse David,
Job 19:13,30:11.
[2.] He saw God dwelling in Mount Zion, manifesting himself to his
people, and ready to hear their prayers and receive their homage.
Though, for the present, he hide his face from the house of Jacob, yet
they know where to find him and recover the sight of him; he dwells in
Mount Zion.
[3.] He therefore resolved to wait upon the Lord and to look for him;
to attend his motions even while he hid his face, and to expect with a
humble assurance his returns in a way of mercy. Those that wait upon
God by faith and prayer may look for him with hope and joy. When we
have not sensible comforts we must still keep up our observance of God
and obedience to him, and then wait awhile; at evening time it shall
be light.
2. By the counsel and advice which he gives to his disciples, among
whom the law and the testimony were sealed, to whom were committed the
lively oracles.
(1.) He supposes they would be tempted, in the day of their distress,
to consult those that had familiar spirits, that dealt with the
devil, asked his advice, and desired to be informed by him concerning
things to come, that they might take their measures accordingly. Thus
Saul, when he was in straits, made his application to the witch of
Endor
(1 Samuel 28:7,15),
and Ahaziah to the god of Ekron,
2 Kings 1:2.
These conjurors had strange fantastic gestures and tones: They
peeped and muttered; they muffled their heads, that they could
neither see nor be seen plainly, but peeped and were peeped at. Or both
the words here used may refer to their voice and manner of speaking;
they delivered what they had to say with a low, hollow, broken sound,
scarcely articulate, and sometimes in a puling or mournful tone, like a
crane, or a swallow, or a dove,
Isaiah 38:14.
They spoke not with that boldness and plainness which the prophets of
the Lord spoke with, but as those who desire to amuse people rather
than to instruct them; yet there were those who were so wretchedly
sottish as to seek to them and to court others to do so, even the
prophet's hearers, who knew better things, whom therefore the prophet
warns not to say, A confederacy with such. There were express
laws against this wickedness
(Leviticus 19:31,20:27),
and yet it was found in Israel, is found even in Christian nations; but
let all that have any sense of religion show it, by startling at the
thought of it. Get thee behind me, Satan. Dread the use of
spells and charms, and consulting those that by hidden arts pretend to
tell fortunes, cure diseases, or discover things lost; for this is a
heinous crime, and, in effect, denies the God that is above.
(2.) He furnishes them with an answer to this temptation, puts words
into their mouths. "If any go about thus to ensnare you, give them this
reply: Should not a people seek to their God? What! for the
living to the dead!"
[1.] "Tell them it is a principle of religion that a people ought to
seek unto their God; now Jehovah is our God, and therefore to him we
ought to seek, and to consult with him, and not with those that have
familiar spirits. All people will thus walk in the name of their
God,
Micah 4:5.
Those that made the hosts of heaven their gods sought unto them,
Jeremiah 8:2.
Should not a people under guilt, and in trouble, seek to their God for
pardon and peace? Should not a people in doubt, in want, and in danger,
seek to their God for direction, supply, and protection? Since the Lord
is our God, and we are his people, it is certainly our duty to seek
him."
[2.] "Tell them it is an instance of the greatest folly in the world to
seek for living men to dead idols." What can be more absurd than to
seek to lifeless images for life and living comforts, or to expect that
our friends that are dead should do that for us, when we deify them and
pray to them, which our living friends cannot do? The dead know not
any thing, nor is there with them any device or working,
Ecclesiastes 9:5,10.
It is folly therefore for the living to make their court to them, with
any expectation of relief from them. Necromancers consulted the dead,
as the witch of Endor, and so proclaimed their own folly. We must live
by the living, and not by the dead. What life or light can we look for
from those that have no light or life themselves?
(3.) He directs them to consult the oracles of God. If the prophets
that were among them did not speak directly to every case, yet they had
the written word, and to that they must have recourse. Note, Those will
never be drawn to consult wizards that know how to make a good use of
their Bibles. Would we know how we may seek to our God, and come to the
knowledge of his mind? To the law and to the testimony. There
you will see what is good, and what the Lord requires of you. Make
God's statutes your counsellors, and you will be counselled aright.
Observe,
[1.] What use we must make of the law and the testimony: we must
speak according to that word, that is, we must make this our
standard, conform to it, take advice from it, make our appeals to it,
and in every thing be overruled and determined by it, consent to those
wholesome healing words
(1 Timothy 6:3),
and speak of the things of God in the words which the Holy Ghost
teaches. It is not enough to say nothing against it, but we must speak
according to it.
[2.] Why we must make this use of the law and the testimony: because we
shall be convicted of the greatest folly imaginable if we do not. Those
that concur not with the word of God do thereby evince that there is
no light, no morning light (so the word is) in them; they
have no right sense of things; they do not understand themselves, nor
the difference between good and evil, truth and falsehood. Note, Those
that reject divine revelation have not so much as human understanding;
nor do those rightly admit the oracles of reason who will not admit the
oracles of God. Some read it as a threatening: "If they speak not
according to this word, there shall be no light to them, no good, no
comfort or relief; but they shall be driven to darkness and despair;"
as it follows here,
Isaiah 8:21,22.
What light had Saul when he consulted the witch?
1 Samuel 28:18,20.
Or what light can those expect that turn away from the Father of
lights?
(4.) He reads the doom of those that seek to familiar spirits and
regard not God's law and testimony; there shall not only be no light to
them, no comfort or prosperity, but they may expect all horror and
misery,
Isaiah 8:21,22.
[1.] The trouble they feared shall come upon them: They shall pass
through the land, or pass to and fro in the land, unfixed,
unsettled, and driven from place to place by the threatening power of
an invading enemy; they shall be hardly bestead whither to go
for the necessary supports of life, either because the country would be
so impoverished that there would be nothing to be had, or at least
themselves and their friends so impoverished that there would be
nothing to be had for them; so that those who used to be fed to the
full shall be hungry. Note, Those that go away from God go out of the
way of all good.
[2.] They shall be very uneasy to themselves, by their discontent and
impatience under their trouble. A good man may be in want, but then he
quiets himself, and strives to make himself easy; but these people
when they shall be hungry shall fret themselves, and when they
have nothing to feed on their vexation shall prey upon their own
spirits; for fretfulness is a sin that is its own punishment.
[3.] They shall be very provoking to all about them, nay, to all above
them; when they find all their measures broken, and themselves at their
wits' end, they will forget all the rules of duty and decency, and will
treasonably curse their king and blasphemously curse their
God, and this more than in their thought and in their
bedchamber,
Ecclesiastes 10:20.
They begin with cursing their king for managing the public affairs no
better, as if the fault were his, when the best and wisest kings cannot
secure success; but, when they have broken the bonds of their
allegiance, no marvel if those of their religion do not hold them long:
they next curse their God, curse him, and die; they quarrel with his
providence, and reproach that, as if he had done them wrong. The
foolishness of man perverts his way, and then his heart frets
against the Lord,
Proverbs 19:3.
See what need we have to keep our mouth as with a bridle when
our heart is hot within us; for the language of fretfulness is
commonly very offensive.
[4.] They shall abandon themselves to despair, and, which way soever
they look, shall see no probability of relief. They shall look upward,
but heaven shall frown upon them and look gloomy; and how can it be
otherwise when they curse their God? They shall look to the earth, but
what comfort can that yield to those with whom God is at war? There is
nothing there but trouble, and darkness, and dimness of anguish, every
thing threatening, and not one pleasant gleam, not one hopeful
prospect; but they shall be driven to darkness by the violence of their
own fears, which represent every thing about them black and frightful.
This explains what he had said
Isaiah 8:20,
that there shall be no light to them. Those that shut their eyes
against the light of God's word will justly be abandoned to darkness,
and left to wander endlessly, and the sparks of their own kindling will
do them no kindness.
Matthew Henry "Verse by Verse Commentary for 'Isaiah' Matthew Henry Bible Commentary".
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