1. ISAIAH 65 COMMENTARY EDITED BY GLENN PEASE Judgment and Salvation 1 I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me; I was found by those who did not seek me. To a nation that did not call on my name, I said, Here am I, here am I. 1.BARNES, I am sought of them that asked not for me - That is, by the Gentiles. So Paul applies it in Rom_10:20. Lowth translates the word which is rendered, I am sought, by I am made known. Noyes, I have heard. The Septuagint renders it, Emphanes egenethen - I became manifest. Jerome, They sought me who had not before inquired for me. The Chaldee, I am sought in my word by those who had not asked me before my face. The Hebrew word darash means properly to frequent a place, to search or seek; and in the Niphal - the form used here - to be sought unto, to grant access to anyone; hence, to hear and answer prayer Eze_14:3; 20:3-31. Here there is not only the idea that he was sought, but that they obtained access to him, for he listened to their supplications. The phrase, That asked not for me, means that they had not been accustomed to worship the true God. The idea is, that those had obtained mercy who had not been accustomed to call upon him. I am found of them - Paul has rendered this Rom_10:20, Emphanes egenomen - I was made manifest. The idea is, that they obtained his favor. I said, Behold me, behold me - I offered them my favor, and invited them to partake of salvation. Paul has omitted this in his quotation. Unto a nation - This does not refer to any particular nation, but to people who had never been admitted to favor with God. That was not called by my name - (See the notes at Isa_63:19). 2. 2. CLARKE, I am sought of them that asked not for me I am made known to those that asked not for me - nidrashti, , the Septuagint, Alexandrian, and St. Paul, Rom_10:20; who has however inverted the order of the phrases, , I was made manifest, and , I was found, from that which they have in the Septuagint. nidrashti means, I am sought so as to be found. Vitringa. If this be the true meaning of the word, then shaalu, that asked, which follows, should seem defective, the verb wanting its object: but two MSS., one of them ancient, have shealuni, asked me; and another MS. shealu li, asked for me; one or other of which seems to be right. But Cocceius in Lex., and Vitringa in his translation, render nidrashti, by I have answered; and so the verb is rendered by all the ancient Versions in Eze_20:3, Eze_20:31. If this be right, the translation will be, I have answered those that asked not. I leave this to the readers judgment; but have followed in my translation the Septuagint and St. Paul, and the MSS. above mentioned. bikeshuni is written regularly and fully in above a hundred MSS. and in the oldest edition, bikeshuni. - L. 3. GILL, I am sought of them that asked not for me,.... That this is a prophecy of the calling and conversion of the Gentiles is not to be doubted, since the Apostle Paul has quoted it, and applied it to that case, Rom_10:20 and is here mentioned as an aggravation of the sin of the Jews, in rejecting Christ, when the Gentiles received him; and was the reason of their being rejected of God, and the Gospel being taken away from them, and given to another people, and of the Lord's removing his presence from the one to the other. The Gentiles are described as those that "asked not for" Christ, or after him, as the apostle supplies it; they had not asked for him, nor after him, nor anything about him; nor of him "before" this time, as the Vulgate Latin version renders it; they were without Christ, the promises and prophecies concerning him; and so had no knowledge of him, nor made any inquiry about him, who or what he was; they did not ask after his coming, or for it; did not desire it, or him, and were in no expectation of it; they asked no favour of him, nor saw any need of him, or worth in him; and yet now he was "sought of them"; or, as the apostle has it, "was made manifest unto them"; and so the Septuagint version; that is, he was manifested to them in the Gospel, and by the ministry of it; which is a revelation of him, of salvation by him, of justification by his righteousness, of peace and pardon by his blood, of atonement by his sacrifice, and of eternal life through him; and the words will bear to be rendered, "I was preached unto them": for from this word are derived others (g), which signify an expounder, and an interpretation, or exposition; and this was matter of fact, that Christ was preached to the Gentiles upon the Jews' rejection of him, which is one branch of the mystery of godliness, 1Ti_3:16 and upon this he was sought of them: they sought him early and earnestly, and desired to have him and his Gospel preached to them again and again, Act_13:42 they sought after the knowledge of him, and for an interest in him, and for all grace from him, righteousness, salvation, and eternal life; and for all the supplies of grace, as all sensible sinners do; this they did as soon as he was made manifest to them by the word, and especially as soon as he was revealed in them, or made manifest in their hearts by his Spirit: I am found of them that sought me not; that had not sought him before the Gospel came to them; they sought the world, and the thing, of it, "for after all these things do the Gentiles seek"; 3. they sought after the wisdom of the world, the vain philosophy of it; "the Greeks seek after wisdom"; and at most and best they only sought after morality and outward righteousness, but not after Christ, till he was set up in the Gospel as an ensign to them, Isa_11:10, but being preached in it, they were set a seeking after him, and "found" him in it, of whom it is full; in the doctrines, promises, and ordinances of it; in whom they found righteousness, life, and salvation, food, and plenty of it, rest, spiritual and eternal, and everlasting glory and happiness: I said, behold me, behold unto a nation that was not called by my name; which still describes the Gentiles, who formerly were not called the people of God, even those who now are, Hos_2:23, this Christ says to them in the Gospel, whose eyes he opens by his Spirit, to behold the glory of his person, the riches of his grace, his wondrous love and condescension, the abundance of blessings in him, and the complete salvation he has wrought out for sinners; and the words are repeated to show that Christ is only to be beheld, and is always to be looked unto; as well as it declares the heartiness of Christ, and his willingness that sinners should look unto him, and be saved; and all this is a proof of the preventing grace of God in the conversion of men, he is first in it; before they ask anything of him, or about him, or his Son, he manifests himself; he reveals Christ, bestows his grace, and presents them with the blessings of his goodness. R. Moses the priest, as Aben Ezra observes, interprets this of the nations of the world; and that the sense is, "even to the Gentiles that are not called by my name I am preached;'' which agrees with the apostle's sense of them; See Gill on Rom_10:20. 4. HENRY, The apostle Paul (an expositor we may depend upon) has given us the true sense of these verses, and told us what was the event they pointed at and were fulfilled in, namely, the calling in of the Gentiles and the rejection of the Jews, by the preaching of the gospel, Rom_10:20, Rom_10:21. And he observes that herein Esaias is very bold, not only in foretelling a thing so improbable ever to be brought about, but in foretelling it to the Jews, who would take it as a gross affront to their nation, and therein Moses's words would be made good (Deu_32:21), I will provoke you to jealousy by those that are no people. I. It is here foretold that the Gentiles, who had been afar off, should be made nigh, Isa_65:1. Paul reads it thus: I was found of those that sought me not; I was made manifest to those that asked not for me. Observe what a wonderful and blessed change was made with them and how they were surprised into it. 1. Those who had long been without God in the world shall now be set a seeking him; those who had not said, Where is God my maker? shall now begin to enquire after him. Neither they nor their fathers had called upon his name, but either lived without prayer or prayed to stocks and stones, the work of men's hands. But now they shall be baptized and call on the name of the Lord, Act_2:21. With what pleasure does the great God here speak of his being sought unto, and how does he glory in it, especially by those who in time past had not asked for him! For there is joy in heaven over great sinners who repent. 2. God shall anticipate their prayers with his blessings: I am found of those that sought me not. This happy acquaintance and correspondence between God and the Gentile world began on his side; they came to know God because they were known of him (Gal_4:9), to seek God and find him 4. because they were first sought and found of him. Though in after-communion God is found of those that seek him (Pro_8:17), yet in the first conversion he is found of those that seek him not; for therefore we love him because he first loved us. The design of the bounty of common providence to them was that they might seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him and find him, Act_17:27. But they sought him not; still he was to them an unknown God, and yet God was found of them. 3. God gave the advantages of a divine revelation to those who had never made a profession of religion: I said, Behold me, behold me (gave them a sight of me and invited them to take the comfort and benefit of it) to those who were not called by my name, as the Jews for many ages had been. When the apostles went about from place to place, preaching the gospel, this was the substance of what they preached: Behold God, behold him, turn towards him, fix the eyes of your minds upon him, acquaint yourselves with him, admire him, adore him; look off from your idols that you have made, and look upon the living God who made you. Christ in them said, Behold me, behold me with an eye of faith; look unto me, and be you saved. And this was said to those that had long been lo-ammi, and lo-ruhamah (Hos_1:8, Hos_1:9), not a people, and that had not obtained mercy, Rom_9:25, Rom_9:26. 5. JAMISON, Isa_65:1-25. Gods reply in justication of His dealings with Israel. In Isa_64:9, their plea was, we are all Thy people. In answer, God declares that others (Gentiles) would be taken into covenant with Him, while His ancient people would be rejected. The Jews were slow to believe this; hence Paul says (Rom_10:20) that Isaiah was very bold in advancing so unpopular a sentiment; he implies what Paul states (Rom_2:28; Rom_9:6, Rom_9:7; Rom_11:1-31), that they are not all (in opposition to the Jews plea, Isa_64:9) Israel which are of Israel. Gods reason for so severely dealing with Israel is not changeableness in Him, but sin in them (Isa_65:2-7). Yet the whole nation shall not be destroyed, but only the wicked; a remnant shall be saved (Isa_65:8-10, Isa_65:11-16). There shall be, finally, universal blessedness to Israel, such as they had prayed for (Isa_65:17-25). I am sought Hebrew, I have granted access unto Me to them, etc. (so Eze_14:3, Should I be inquired of; Eph_2:18). found Rom_10:20 renders this, I was made manifest. As an instance of the sentiment in the clause, I am sought, etc., see Joh_12:21; of the sentiment in this clause, Act_9:5. Compare as to the Gentile converts, Eph_2:12, Eph_2:13. Behold me (Isa_45:22). nation ... not called by my name that is, the Gentiles. God retorts in their own words (Isa_63:19) that their plea as being exclusively called by His name will not avail, for Gods gospel invitation is not so exclusive (Rom_9:25; Rom_1:16). 6. K&D, After the people have poured out their heart before Jehovah, He announces what they may expect from Him. But instead of commencing with a promise, as we might anticipate after the foregoing prayer, He begins with reproach and threatening; for although the penitential portion of the community had included the whole nation in their prayer, it was destruction, and not deliverance, which awaited one portion of the nation, and that portion was the greater one. 5. The great mass were in that state of sin unto death which defies all intercession (1Jo_5:16), because they had so scornfully and obstinately resisted the grace which had been so long and so incessantly offered to them. I was discernible to those who did not inquire, discoverable by those who did not seek me. I said, 'Here am I, here am I,' to a nation where my name was not called. I spread out my hands all the day to a refractory people, who walked in the way that was not good, after their own thoughts. The lxx (A) render Isa_65:1, I was found by those who did not seek me, I became manifest to those who did not ask for me (B reverses the order); and in Rom_10:20-21, Paul refers Isa_65:1 to the Gentiles, and Isa_65:2 to Israel. The former, to whom He has hitherto been strange, enter into fellowship with Him; whilst the latter, to whom He has constantly offered Himself, thrust Him away, and lose His fellowship. Luther accordingly adopts this rendering: I shall be sought by those who did not ask for me, I shall be found by those who did not seek me. And to the heathen who did not call upon my name, I say, Here am I, here am I. Zwingli, again, observes on Isa_65:1, This is an irresistible testimony to the adoption of the Gentiles. Calvin also follows the apostle's exposition, and observes, that Paul argues boldly for the calling of the Gentiles on the ground of this passage, and says that Isaiah dared to proclaim and assert that the Gentiles had been called by God, because he announced a greater thing, and announced it more clearly than the reason of those times would bear. Of all the Jewish expositors, where is only one, viz., Gecatilia, who refers v. 1 to the Gentiles; and of all the Christina expositors of modern times, there is only one, viz., Hendewerk, who interprets it in this way, without having been influenced by the quotation made by Paul. Hofman, however, and Stier, feel obliged to follow the apostle's exposition, and endeavour to vindicate it. But we have no sympathy with any such untenable efforts to save the apostle's honour. In Rom_9:25-26, he also quotes Hos_2:23 and Hos_2:1 in support of the calling of the Gentiles; whereas he could not have failed to know, that it is the restoration of Israel to favour which is alluded to there. He merely appeals to Hos 2 in support of the New Testament fact of the calling of the Gentiles, so far as it is in these words of the Old Testament prophet that the fact is most adequately expressed. And according to 1Pe_2:10, Peter received the same impression from Hosea's words. But with the passage before us it is very different. The apostle shows, by the way in which he applies the Scripture, how he depended in this instance upon the Septuagint translation, which was in his own hands and those of his readers also, and by which the allusion to the Gentiles is naturally suggested, even if not actually demanded. And we may also assume that the apostle himself understood the Hebrew text, with which he, the pupil of Rabban Gamaliel, was of course well acquainted, in the same sense, viz., as relating to the calling of the Gentiles, without being therefore legally bound to adopt the same interpretation. The interchange of (cf., Isa_55:5) and ; the attribute , which applies to heathen, and heathen only; the possibility of interpreting Isa_65:1-2, in harmony with the context both before and after, if Isa_65:1 be taken as referring to the Gentiles, on the supposition that Jehovah is here contrasting His success with the Gentiles and His failure with Israel: all these certainly throw weight into the scale. Nevertheless they are not decisive, if we look at the Hebrew alone, apart altogether from the lxx. For nidrasht does not mean I have become manifest; but, regarded as the so-called niphal tolerativum (according to Eze_14:3; Eze_20:3, Eze_20:31; Eze_36:37), I permitted myself to be explored or found out; and consequently , according to Isa_55:6, I let myself be found. And so explained, Isa_65:1 stands in a parallel relation to Isa_55:6 : Jehovah was searchable, was discoverable (cf., Zep_1:6) to those who asked no questions, and did not seek Him ( = , Ges. 123, 3), i.e., He displayed to Israel the fulness of His nature and the possibility of His fellowship, although they did not bestir themselves or trouble themselves in the least about Him - a view which is confirmed by the fact that Isa_65:1 merely refers to offers 6. made to them, and not to results of any kind. Israel, however, is called , not as a nation that was not called by Jehovah's name (which would be expressed by , Isa_43:7; cf., , , Isa_48:12), but as a nation where (supply 'asher) Jehovah's name was not invoked (lxx who called not upon my name), and therefore as a thoroughly heathenish nation; for which reason we have goi (lxx ) here, and not am (lxx ). Israel was estranged from Him, just like the heathen; but He still turned towards them with infinite patience, and (as is added in Isa_65:2) with ever open arms of love. He spread out His hands (as a man does to draw another towards him to embrace him) all the day (i.e., continually, cf., Isa_28:24) towards an obstinate people, who walked in the way that was not good (cf., Psa_36:5; Pro_16:29; here with the article, which could not be repeated with the adjective, because of the ), behind their own thoughts. That which led them, and which they followed, was not the will of God, but selfish views and purposes, according to their won hearts' lusts; and yet Jehovah did not let them alone, but they were the constant thought and object of His love, which was ever seeking, alluring, and longing for their salvation. 7. BI, Jehovahs answer to the prayer of the Church The supplication is ended; and chap. 65. appears to be intended as the answeran answer, however, in which a distinction is drawn between worthy and unworthy members of Israel, and a different prospect is held out to each. God has ever, He says, been accessible to His people, He has ever been ready to renew intercourse with them: it was they who would not respond, but provoked Him with their idolatries. (Prof. S. R. Driver, D. D.) A nation that was not called by My name A nation that called not on My name. The reference is to those among the people who, after the Restoration, still practised the idolatries of their pre-exilic forefathers. (A. B.Davidson, D. D.) The very bold prophecy We learn on inspired authority that this is a very bold passage (Rom_10:20); it required much courage to utter it at the first, and in Pauls day it needed still more to quote it and press it home upon the Jews around him. He who protests against a self-righteous people, and angers them by showing that others whom they despised are saved while they themselves are being lost, will have need of a dauntless spirit. This text has the clear ring of free grace about it; and for this reason it may be called bold. I. THE PERSONALITY OF GOD IN THE WORK OF HIS GRACE. This is remarkably prominent in the work before us. 1. The personality of God comes forth in that He Himself is observant of all that is done. Do any seek him? He saith, I am sought. De any find him? He saith, I am found. Is there any preaching of the Gospel? The Lord declares, Behold Me, behold Me. 7. 2. He Himself in the great object of desire where grace is in operation. When men are savingly aroused, they seekwhat? Religion? By no means. They seek God, if they seek aright. The Lord saith, I am found. If men do not find God they have found nothing. God Himself fills the vision of faith; observe the words, Behold Me, behold Me. We look to God in Christ, and find all that our soul needs. 3. He Himself is the Speaker of that call by which men are saved. Here are the words: I said, Behold Me, behold Me. The Lord Himself speaks the effectual word. 4. He Himself is the director of the message., I said, Behold Me, behold Me, unto a nation that was not called by My name. Not only does God speak the Gospel, but He speaks it home to those whom He appoints to hear it. This surrounds the Gospel with a strange solemnity: if the Gospel blesses us, it is not it, but God that blesses: God Himself has come unto us. This fact has another aspect to it; for if the Gospel be rejected, it is God that is rejected. Read the next verse: I have spread out My hands all the day unto a rebellious people. II. THE DELIGHT WHICH GOD TAKES IN THE WORK OF GRACE. God is glad to be sought and found by those who once were negligent of Him. 1. It is evident that He rejoices in contrast to the complaint of the next verse. 2. The Lord rejoices in each step of the process. There is a poor soul beginning to cry,, Oh that I knew where I might find Him! and lo the Lord says, I am sought. A man has only just begun to attend the House of Prayer; he has only lately commenced the earnest study of the Bible; the Lord sees it, and He says, I am sought. As when a fisherman smiles because a fish has begun to nibble at the bait, so the Lord notes the first movings of the heart towards Himself, and He says, I am sought. The very next sentence is, I am found. 3. The Lord also rejoices in the persons who seek Him. He says, I am sought of them that asked not for Me. He will be glad for any heart to keep on seeking that has begun to seek; but He is best pleased when non-seekers become seekers. 4. The Lord rejoices in the numbers who seek and find Him. I said, Behold Me, behold Me, unto a nation. When shall the day come that nations shall be born at once? III. THE DESCRIPTION WHICH GOD HIMSELF GIVES OF THE WORK OF GRACE. 1. The Lord tells us where He finds the objects of His grace. He says, They asked not for Me; they sought Me not; they were not called by My name. What a mercy it is that He comes to us in our sin and misery; for assuredly we should not else come to Him. 2. He next describes that Gospel which comes to them as the power of God. Here are His own words: I said, Behold Me, behold Me. The way of salvation is, Look unto Me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth. 3. Then the Lord goes on to mention the converts which the Gospel makes. The careless become seekers, the ungodly finders, the prayerless behold their God and live. 4. The Lord also describes the experience of the saved. God comes to us that we may come to Him. IV. THE USE WHICH GOD MAKES OF ALL THIS. The Lord here took care that when He said, I am sought of them that asked not for Me, His words should be written down, and that they should be made known to us. It is not everything that God may say to Himself that He will afterwards repeat to us; but here these private utterances of the Divine heart are spoken out to us by Isaiah, and left on record in this inspired Book. To what end d-o you think it is so? 1. That he may excite in us wonder and admiration. 8. 2. To destroy pride and self-esteem. 3. To encourage you who are seeking Him: for if those who do not seek Him often find Him, why, you that do seek Him are sure to find Him. 4. To encourage workers. Go to work among the worst of the worst; for since God is found of those who seek Him not, there is hope for the vilest. 5. That he may convict those who do not come to Him of the greatness of their sin. Look, saith He, those who never heard of Me before have found salvation, while you who have been instructed, and invited, and impressed, have still held out and resisted My Spirit. (C. H. Spurgeon.) 8. CALVIN, 1.I have manifested myself. The Prophet now passes on to another doctrine; for he shews that God has good reason for rejecting and casting off the Jews. It is because they have profited nothing by either warnings or threatenings to be brought back from their errors into the right way. But that they might not think that the Lord covenant would on that account be made void, he adds that he will have another people which formerly was no people, and that where he was formerly unknown, his name Shall be well known and highly celebrated. The Jews looked on this as monstrous, and reckoned it to be altogether inconsistent with the covenant which the Lord made with Abraham, (Gen_17:7,) if such a benefit were extended to any others than his posterity. But the Prophet intended to strip them of the foolish confidence of imagining that God was bound to the posterity of Abraham; for the Lord had not restricted himself to them but on an absolute condition, and if this were violated by them, they would be deprived, like covenant-breakers and traitors, of all the advantage derived from the covenant. Nor was this promise made to Abraham alone, and to those who were descended from him, but to all who should be ingrafted by faith into his family. But it will be more convenient to begin with the second verse, in which he explains the cause of the rejection, that we may more fully understand the Prophet design. (198) (198) The remainder of our author exposition of the first verse will be found at commentary on verse 1. Ed. 2 All day long I have held out my hands to an obstinate people, 9. who walk in ways not good, pursuing their own imaginations 1.BARNES, I have spread out my hands - To spread out the hands is an action denoting invitation or entreaty Pro_1:24. The sense is, that God had invited the Jews constantly to partake of his favors, but they had been rebellious, and had rejected his offers. All the day - I have not ceased to do it. The Chaldee renders this, I sent my prophets all the day to a rebellious people. Unto a rebellious people - (See the notes at Isa_1:2). Paul renders this, Pros laon apeithounta kai antilegonta - Unto a disobedient and gainsaying people; but the sense is substantially preserved. Which walketh - In what way they did this, the prophet specifies in the following verse. This is the general reason why he had rejected them, and why he had resolved to make the offer of salvation to the Gentiles. This, at first, was a reason for the calamities which God had brought upon the nation in the suffering of the exile, but it also contains a general principle of which that was only one specimen. They had been rebellious, and God had brought this calamity upon them. It would be also true in future times, that he would reject them and offer salvation to the pagan world, and would be found by those who had never sought for him or called on his name. 2. PULPIT COMMENTARY, I have spread out my hands. Not exactly in prayer, but in expostulation (comp. Pro_1:24, "I have stretched out my hand," where the verb in the Hebrew is the same). All the day; or, all day long, as inRom_10:21; i.e. continually, day after day, for yearsnay, for centuries. A rebellions people (comp. Isa_30:1; and see also Isa_1:4, Isa_1:23; Hos_4:16; Jer_5:23; Jer_6:28). The "rebellions people" ('am sorer) is undoubtedly Israel. In a way that was not good; rather, in the way that is not good; i.e. the "way of sinners" (Psa_1:1)the "way that leadeth to destruction" (Mat_7:13). 3. GILL, I have spread out mine hands all the day unto a rebellious people,.... Meaning Israel, as the apostle explains it, Rom_10:21, whom he calls a "disobedient and gainsaying people"; who believed not in Christ, obeyed not his Gospel, but contradicted and blasphemed it; and were rebellious against him, would not have him to reign over them, nor submit to his ordinances; though he most affectionately invited them, earnestly pressed and urged them, and that daily and frequently, to attend his ministry; and used all human methods to gain audience of them, and acceptance with them, but all to no purpose; see Mat_23:37, they remained obstinate and inflexible, and so they did under the ministry of his apostles; for, notwithstanding their ill usage of him, he ordered the Gospel to be first preached to them, as it 10. was, till they treated it with such indignity and contempt, that the apostles turned away from them to the Gentiles, as they were bid; see Act_13:46. The Targum is, "I sent my prophets every day, &c.'' which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts; in their own way, of their own devising, choosing, and approving, and which was a wicked one; and after their own imaginations and inventions; after the traditions of the elders the doctrines and commandments of men; and after a righteousness of their own, which they sought by the works of the law, and so submitted not to, but rejected the righteousness of Christ. 4. HENRY, It is here foretold that the Jews, who had long been a people near to God, should be cast off and set at a distance Isa_65:2. The apostle applies this to the Jews in his time, as a seed of evil-doers. Rom_10:21, But to Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people. Here observe, 1. How the Jews were courted to the divine grace. God himself, by his prophets, by his Son, by his apostles, stretched forth his hands to them, as Wisdom did, Pro_1:24. God spread out his hands to them, as one reasoning and expostulating with them, not only beckoned to them with the finger, but spread out his hands, as being ready to embrace and entertain them, reaching forth the tokens of his favour to them, and importuning them to accept them. When Christ was crucified his hands were spread out and stretched forth, as if he were preparing to receive returning sinners into his bosom; and this all the day, all the gospel-day. He waited to be gracious, and was not weary of waiting; even those that came in at the eleventh hour of the day were not rejected. 2. How they contemned the invitation; it was given to a rebellious and gainsaying people; they were invited to the wedding-supper, and would not come, but rejected the counsel of God against themselves. Now here we have, (1.) The bad character of this people. The world shall see that it was not for nothing that they were rejected of God; no, it was for their whoredoms that they were put away. [1.] Their character in general was such as one would not expect of those who had been so much the favourites of Heaven. First, They were very wilful. Right or wrong they would do as they had a mind. They generally walk on in a way that is not good, not the right way, not a safe way, for they walk after their own thought, their own devices and desires. If our guide be our own thoughts, our way is not likely to be good; for every imagination of the thought of our hearts is only evil. God had told them his thoughts, what his mind and will were, but they would walk after their own thoughts, would do what they thought best. Secondly, They were very provoking. This was God's complaint of them all along - they grieved him, they vexed his Holy Spirit, as if they would contrive how to make him their enemy: They provoke me to anger continually to my face. They cared not what affront they gave to God, though it were in his sight and presence, in a downright contempt of his authority and defiance of his justice; and this continually; it had been their way and manner ever since they were a people, witness the day of temptation in the wilderness. [2.] The prophet speaks more particularly of their iniquities and the iniquities of their fathers, as the ground of God's casting them off, Isa_65:7. Now he gives instances of both. First, The most provoking iniquity of their fathers was idolatry; this, the prophet tells them, was provoking God to his face; and it is an iniquity which, as appears by the second commandment, God often visits upon the children. This was the sin that brought them into captivity, and, though the captivity pretty well cured them of it, yet, when the final ruin of that nation came, that was again brought into the account against them; for in the day when God 11. visits he will visit that, Exo_32:34. Perhaps there were many, long after the captivity, who, though they did not worship other gods, were yet guilty of the disorders here mentioned; for they married strange wives. 1. They forsook God's temple, and sacrificed in gardens or groves, that they might have the satisfaction of doing it in their own way, for they liked not God's institutions. 2. They forsook God's altar, and burnt incense upon bricks, altars of their own contriving (they burnt incense according to their own inventions, which were of no more value, in comparison with God's institution, than an altar of bricks in comparison with the golden altar which God appointed them to burn incense on), or upon tiles (so some read it), such as they covered their flat-roofed houses with, and on them sometimes they burnt incense to their idols, as appears, 2Ki_23:12, where we read of altars on the top of the upper chamber of Ahaz, and Jer_19:13, of their burning incense to the host of heaven upon the roofs of their houses. 3. They used necromancy, or consulting with the dead, and, in order to that, they remained among the graves, and lodged in the monuments, to seek for the living to the dead (Jer_8:19), as the witch of Endor. Or they used to consult the evil spirits that haunted the sepulchres. 4. They violated the laws of God about their meat, and broke through the distinction between clean and unclean before it was taken away by the gospel. They ate swine's flesh. Some indeed chose rather to die than to eat swine's flesh, as Eleazar and the seven brethren in the story of the Maccabees; but it is probable that many ate of it, especially when it came to be a condition of life. In our Saviour's time we read of a vast herd of swine among them, which gives us cause to suspect that there were many then who made so little conscience of the law as to eat swine's flesh, for which they were justly punished in the destruction of the swine. And the broth, or pieces, of other forbidden meats, called here abominable things, was in their vessels, and was made use of for food. The forbidden meat is called an abomination, and those that meddle with it are said to make themselves abominable, Lev_11:42, Lev_11:43. Those that durst not eat the meat yet made bold with the broth, because they would come as near as might be to that which was forbidden, to show how they coveted the forbidden fruit. Perhaps this is here put figuratively for all forbidden pleasures and profits which are obtained by sin, that abominable thing which the Lord hates; they loved to be dallying with it, to be tasting of its broth. But those who thus take a pride in venturing upon the borders of sin, and the brink of it, are in danger of falling into the depths of it. But, 5. JAMISON, spread out ... hands inviting them earnestly (Pro_1:24). all ... day continually, late and early (Jer_7:13). rebellious people Israel, whose rebellion was the occasion of Gods turning to the Gentiles (Rom_11:11, Rom_11:12, Rom_11:15). way ... not good that is, the very reverse of good, very bad (Eze_36:31). 6. PULPIT COMMENTARY, Threatenings and promises. Both, as it would appear, addressed to the chosen people, though many, including St. Paul, apply the earlier part of the passage to the conversion of the Gentiles. There is a polytheistic party, and a party of true believers in the nation. I. GOD BEFOREHAND WITH MEN. He "allows himself to be consulted;" he "offers answers," or "is 12. heard" by those who came not to consult him. He was "at hand to those who did not seek him." To a nation that did not call on him he cried, "Here I am!" (Isa_64:7; Isa_43:22). It is actually he who "spreads out his hands""in the gesture of prayer; what a condescension!" (cf. Pro_1:24). And this "all the day," or continuously"as if God did beseech you." It is a thought full of deep pathos and Divine beauty, that God no less seeks men than they seek him. He in a sense prays them to be reconciled to him. While, therefore, prayer is in one aspect the going forth of active desires after God, on the other hand it is the response to his action upon us. Not a day passes but the gentle mercy and love expressed in his providence offers its silent plea to heart and conscience: "Child of man! I love thee; come to me, and be at peace." II. THE STUBBORNNESS OF MAN. The people are described as "unruly," and as "walking in a way which is not good, after their own thoughts." In the will and its licence, falsely called liberty, lies the mischief. The carnal mind is not "subject to God, neither indeed can be." In "will-worship" the indulgence of the senses and the caprices of the fancy, lies the source of idolatry. And thus they irritate Jehovah to his face continually. They sacrifice in the gardens and on the bricks, i.e. the tiles of the houses (2Ki_23:12; Zep_1:5; Jer_19:13), or on altars of materials forbidden by the Law (Exo_20:24, Exo_20:25). They appear to be guilty of necromancy, of the consultation of dreams or citation of the departed. They incur ceremonial pollution by eating of swine's flesh and other animals. And, initiated into some heathen rites, they had actually assumed a superior holiness to that of the people of God, thus caricaturing the true religion. III. THE WRATH AND VENGEANCE OF JEHOVAH. Here, again, the strongest figures arc employed. These abominations are "a smoke in his nose, a fire burning all the day long." Nothing can more strongly express what is offensive and irritating. So in Deu_32:22, "A fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn to the lowest hell" (cf. Psa_18:5; Eze_38:18). And with equal force the certainty of Divine vengeance is described. Either the sin of the Jews, or the Divine decree for its punishment, is written before Jehovah. The allusion is to the custom of kings of recording decrees in a volume or on a tablet, and kept in their presence, so that they might not be forgotten. Moreover, "the fortunes of men, past, present, and future, are all noted in the heavenly registers" (Deu_4:3; Psa_66:8; Dan_7:10). A book of remembrance was written before Jehovah (Mal_3:16). From this follows the justice of Divine punishment. He will not keep silence; nothing shall suppress his just edict or sentence. He will certainly recompense, and in full measure; the large and loose besom of the Oriental garment being, by a figure, viewed as the receptacle of those Divine penalties (Psa_79:12; Jer_32:18; Luk_6:38; Exo_4:6, Exo_4:7; Pro_6:27). The firm scriptural doctrine that the consequences of ancestral sin pass over to posterity here appears (Exo_20:5; Exo_34:7; Job_21:19; Num_14:18; Luk_11:50, Luk_11:51). There seems to have been a foundingand an accumulation of crime which now threatens to sweep down every barrier before it. 13. IV. THE BEAM OF HOPE. In this extreme of denunciation and despair a transition, as ever, occurs. His mercy is not "clean gone for ever." The majority of Israel may be evil, for all that there is ever a "remnant" according to the election of grace. The vintagers, finding but a few good grapes on a cluster, say to each otherperhaps it is the snatch of a vintage-song"Destroy it not, for a blessing is in it." We are too ready to deal with men in the lump and in the massthey are a "bad lot," in familiar language we say. But the Divine eye marks the element of worth amidst the most corrupt and worthless mass (cf. Isa_1:9; Isa_7:3; Isa_10:21; Isa_11:11-16). That which has the germinal principle, the seed-life in it, he cherishes; he will, in spite of all that is of another quality in the midst of which it may be imbedded, preserve. So here, the mountains and the whole land from east to west shall be preserved by the people (Isa_33:9; Jos_7:24-26). Tillage is the very symbol of peace, plenty, prosperity (Isa_30:23,Isa_30:24). A traveller may see in the valley of Sharon, when the sun gilds the mountain-top, and the flocks are returning to their fold, a visible expression of the future Paradise of God. "What a Paradise was here when Solomon reigned in Jerusalem, and sang of the roses of Sharon! What a heaven upon earth will be here again, when he that is greater than Solomon shall sit on the throne of David; for in his days shall the righteous flourish, and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth!"J. 7. CALVIN, 2.I have stretched out my hands. He accuses the Jews, and complains of their ingratitude and rebellion; and in this manner he proves that there is no reason why they should say that the Lord does them wrong if he bestow his grace on others. The Jews conducted themselves proudly and insolently toward God, as if they had been elected through their own merit. On account of their ingratitude and insolence the Lord rejects them as unworthy, and complains that to no purpose did he out his hands to draw and bring them back to him. By stretching out of the hands he means the daily invitation. There are various ways in which the Lord out his hands to us; for he draws us to him, either effectually or by the word. In this passage it must relate chiefly to the word. The Lord never speaks to us without at the same time out his hand to join us to himself, or without causing us to feel, on the other hand, that he is near to us. He even embraces us, and shews the anxiety of a father, so that, if we do not comply with his invitation, it must be owing entirely to our own fault. The heinousness of the guilt is greatly aggravated by long continuance, that, during a long succession of ages, God did not cease to send one Prophet after another, and even, as he says elsewhere, to rise early in the morning and continue the same care till the evening. (Jer_7:13.) To a rebellious people. First, he calls them or disobedient, but immediately afterwards he declares what is the nature of that rebellion, namely, that the people walk after their own thoughts. Nothing is more displeasing to God than for men to be (2Pe_2:10;) that is, devoted to their own inclinations; 14. for he commands us to surrender our own judgment, that we may be capable of receiving the true doctrine. The Lord therefore testifies that it was not owing to him that he did not retain and continue to exercise towards them his wonted favor, but that they alienated themselves through their own madness, because they chose to abide by their own natural inclinations rather than to follow God as their leader. Having pointed out the cause of this rejection, we must come to the calling of the Gentiles, who succeeded in the room of the Jews; for that is undoubtedly the subject treated in the first verse. The Lord had long ago foretold it by Moses, so that they ought not to have thought that there was anything new in this prediction. have provoked me by that which is not God; they have moved me to anger by their vanities; and I also will provoke them by that which is not a people, by a foolish nation I will enrage them. (Deu_32:21.) Finally, the Prophet now threatens the same thing which was afterwards foretold by Christ when that blinding was at hand. kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and shall be given to a nation which shall bring forth fruit. (Mat_21:43.) 1.To them that asked not. (199) When he says that God manifested himself them that asked not, he shews that the Gentiles were anticipated by the grace of God, and that they brought no merit or excellence as an inducement to God to give it to them. This obviously agrees with that passage which we quoted, in which Moses calls them foolish nation. (Deu_32:21.) Thus, under a universal type, he describes what is the nature of men before the Lord anticipates them by his mercy; for they neither call on the Lord, nor seek him, nor think about him. And this passage ought to be carefully observed, in order to establish the certainty of our calling, which may be said to be the key that opens to us the kingdom of heaven; for by means of it peace and repose are given to our consciences, which would always be in doubt and uncertainty if they did not rest on such testimonies. We see, therefore, that it did not happen accidentally or suddenly that we were called by God and reckoned to be his people; for it had been predicted long before in many passages. From this passage Paul earnestly contends for the calling of the Gentiles, and says that Isaiah boldly exclaims and affirms that the Gentiles have been called by God, because he spoke more clearly and loudly than the circumstances of Ms own time required. Here we see, therefore, that we were called by an eternal purpose of God long before the event happened. Behold I, behold I. By repeating these words twice, he confirms still more the declaration that God hath manifested himself in so friendly a manner to foreign and heathen nations, that they do not doubt that he 15. dwells in the midst of them. And, indeed, that sudden change needed to be confirmed, because it was difficult to be believed; although by that very novelty the Prophet intended to magnify the unexpected grace of God. The meaning may be thus summed up: the Lord shall have offered himself to the Gentiles, and they shall have been joined to the holy family of Abraham, there will be some Church in the world, after the Jews have been driven out. Now we see that all that is here predicted by the Prophet was fulfilled by the Gospel, by which the Lord actually offered and manifested himself to foreign nations. Whenever, therefore, this voice of the Gospel is sounded in our ears, or when we record the word of the Lord, let us know that the Lord is present, and offers himself, that we may know him familiarly, and may call on him boldly and with assured confidence. (199) Calvin, having found it to begin with the second verse, now returns to the exposition of the first verse. Ed. 3 a people who continually provoke me to my very face, offering sacrifices in gardens and burning incense on altars of brick; 1.BARNES, A people - This verse contains a specification of the reasons why God had rejected them, and brought the calamities upon them. That provoketh me to anger - That is, by their sins. They give constant occasion for my indignation. Continually - ( tam yd). It is not once merely, but their conduct as a people is constantly such as to excite my displeasure. To my face - There is no attempt at concealment. Their abominations are public. It is always regarded as an additional affront when an offence is committed in the very presence of another, and when there is not even the apology that it was supposed he did not see the offender. It is a great aggravation of the guilt of the stoner, that his offence is committed in the very presence, and under the very eye, of God. 16. That sacrificeth in gardens - (See the notes at Isa_1:29). And burneth incense - On the meaning of the word incense, see the notes at Isa_1:13. Upon altars of brick - Margin, Bricks. The Hebrew is simply, Upon bricks. The command of God was that the altars for sacrifice should be made of unhewn stone Exo_20:24-25. But the pagan had altars of a different description, and the Jews had sacrificed on those altars. Some have supposed that this means that they sacrificed on the roofs of their houses, which were flat, and paved with brick, or tile, or plaster. That altars were constructed sometimes on the roofs of their houses, we know from 2Ki_23:12, where Josiah is said to have beaten down the altars that were on the top of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the king of Judah had made. But it is not necessary to suppose that such sacrifices are referred to here. They had disobeyed the command of God, which required that the altars should be made only of unhewn stone. They had built other altars, and had joined with the pagan in offering sacrifices thereon. The reason why God forbade that the altar should be of anything but unhewn stone is not certainly known, and is not necessary to be understood in order to explain this passage. It may have been, first, in order effectually to separate his people from all others, as well in the construction of the altar as in anything and everything else; secondly, because various inscriptions and carvings were usually made on altars, and as this tended to superstition, God commanded that the chisel should not be used at all in the construction of the altars where his people should worship. 2. CLARKE, That sacrificeth in gardens, and burneth incense upon altars of brick Sacrificing in the gardens, and burning incense on the tiles - These are instances of heathenish superstition, and idolatrous practices, to which the Jews were immoderately addicted before the Babylonish captivity. The heathen worshipped their idols in groves; whereas God, in opposition to this species of idolatry, commanded his people, when they should come into the promised land, to destroy all the places wherein the Canaanites had served their gods, and in particular to burn their groves with fire, Deu_12:2, Deu_12:3. These apostate Jews sacrificed upon altars built of bricks; in opposition to the command of God in regard to his altar, which was to be of unhewn stone, Exo_20:26. Et pro uno altari, quod impolitis lapidibus Dei erat lege constructum, coctos lateres et agrorum cespites hostiarum sanguine cruentabant. And instead of one altar which, according to the law of God, was, to be constructed of unhewn stones, they stained the bricks and turfs of the fields with the blood of their victims. Hieron. in loc. Or it means, perhaps, that they sacrificed upon the roofs of their houses, which were always flat, and paved with brick, or tile, or plaster of terrace. An instance of this idolatrous practice we find in 2Ki_23:12, where it is said that Josiah beat down the altars that were on the top of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made. See also Zep_1:5. Sir John Chardins MS. note on this place of Isaiah is as follows: Ainsi font tous les Gentiles, sur les lieux eleves, et sur les terrasses, appellez latcres, pareeque sont faits de briq. Who dwell in the sepulchres, and lodge in the caverns, for the purposes of necromancy and divination; to obtain dreams and revelations. Another instance of heathenish superstition: so Virgil: - Huc dona sacerdos Cum tulit, et caesarum ovium sub nocte silenti Pellibus incubuit stratis, somnosque petivit: Multa modis simulacra videt volitantia miris, Et varias audit voces, fruiturque deorum Colloquio, atque imis Acheronta affatur Avernis. Aen. 7:86. - L. 17. Here in distress the Italian nations come, Anxious, to clear their doubts, and learn their doom. First, on the fleeces of the slaughtered sheep, By night the sacred priest dissolves in sleep: When in a train, before his slumbering eye, Thin airy forms and wondrous visions fly. He calls the powers who guard the infernal floods, And talks inspired, familiar with the gods. Pitt. There was a practice exactly like this which prevailed among the Highlanders of Scotland; an authentic account of this is given by Sir Walter Scott, in a note on his poem called The Lady of the Lake. It is as follows: - The Highlanders, like all rude people, had various superstitious modes of inquiring into futurity. One of the most noted was the Taghairm, mentioned in the text. A person was wrapped up in the skin of a newly-slain bullock, and deposited beside a waterfall, or at the bottom of a precipice, or in some other strange, wild, and unusual situation, where the scenery around him suggested nothing but objects of horror. In this situation he revolved in his mind the question proposed; and whatever was impressed upon him by his exalted imagination passed for the inspiration of the disembodied spirits who haunt these desolate recesses. In some of the Hebrides, they attributed the same oracular power to a large black stone by the sea-shore, which they approached with certain solemnities; and considered the first fancy which came into their own minds after they did so, to be the undoubted dictate of the tutelar deity of the stone; and as such to be, if possible, punctually complied with. Martin has recorded the following curious modes of Highland augury, in which the Taghairm, and its effects upon the person who was subjected to it, may serve to illustrate the text. It was an ordinary thing among the over-curious to consult an invisible oracle concerning the fate of families and battles, etc. This was performed three different ways; the first was by a company of men, one of whom, being detached by lot, was afterwards carried to a river, which was the boundary between two villages. Four of the company laid hold on him; and, having shut his eyes, they took him by the legs and arms, and then, tossing him to and again, struck his hips with force against the bank. One of them cried out, What is it you have got here? Another answers, A log of birch-wood. The other cries again, Let his invisible friends appear from all quarters, and let them relieve him by giving an answer to our present demands; and in a few minutes after, a number of little creatures came from the sea, who answered the question, and disappeared suddenly. The man was then set at liberty; and they all returned home, to take their measures according to the prediction of their false prophets; but the poor deluded fools were abused, for the answer was still ambiguous. This was always practiced in the night, and may literally be called the works of darkness. I had an account from the most intelligent and judicious men in the Isle of Skie, that, about sixty-two years ago, the oracle was thus consulted only once, and that was in the parish of Kilmartin, on the east side, by a wicked and mischievous race of people, who are now extinguished, both root and branch. The second way of consulting the oracle was by a party of men, who first retired to solitary places, remote from any house; and there they singled out one of their number, and wrapt him in a big cows hide, which they folded about him. His whole body was covered with it, except his head, and so left in this posture all night, until his invisible friends relieved him, by giving a proper answer to the question in hand; which he received, as he fancied, from several persons that he found about him all that time. His consorts returned to him at the break of day, and then 18. he communicated his news to them; which often proved fatal to those concerned in such unwarrantable inquiries. There was a third way of consulting, which was a confirmation of the second above mentioned. The same company who put the man into the hide took a live cat, and put him on a spit. One of the number was employed to turn the spit, and one of his consorts inquired of him, What are you doing? He answered, I roast this cat until his friends answer the question; which must be the same that was proposed by the man shut up in the hide. And afterwards, a very big cat (in allusion to the story of the King of the Cats, in Lord Lyttletons Letters, and well known in the Highlands as a nursery tale) comes, attended by a number of lesser cats, desiring to relieve the cat turned upon the spit, and then answers the question. If this answer proved the same that was given to the man in the hide, then it was taken as a confirmation of the other, which, in this case, was believed infallible. Mr. Alexander Cooper, present minister of North-Vist, told me that one John Erach, in the Isle of Lewis, assured him it was his fate to have been led by his curiosity with some who consulted this oracle, and that he was a night within the hide, as above-mentioned; during which time he felt and heard such terrible things, that he could not express them. The impression it made on him was such as could never go off; and he said for a thousand worlds he would never again be concerned in the like performance, for this had disordered him to a high degree. He confessed it ingenuously, and with an air of great remorse; and seemed to be very penitent under a just sense of so great a crime. He declared this about five years since, and is still living in the Lewis for any thing I know. - Description of the Western Isles p. 110. See also Pennants Scottish Tour, vol. 2 p. 361. 3. GILL, A people that provoketh me to anger continually to my face,.... They committed their sins openly, without any fear of the divine Being, and in defiance of him, not at all awed by his omniscience and omnipresence; they committed them in the open streets, and even in the temple, the place of the divine residence; and these they did constantly, which provoked him to anger and wrath against them; particularly the following sins: that sacrificeth in gardens; to idols, as the Targum, placed there, as they were under every green tree; or in groves, where idols were worshipped. Fortunatus Scacchus (h) thinks this refers to their having their sepulchres in their gardens, where they consulted the dead; which is favoured by a clause in the next verse: and burneth incense on altars of brick: or, "upon bricks" (i). Kimchi says, when they made bricks, they put upon them incense for idols; or, "upon tiles"; upon the roofs of their houses, which were covered with tiles; see Jer_19:13 when incense should only have been burnt upon the golden altar erected for that purpose, Exo_30:1, not that these idolatrous actions were committed by the Jews in the times of Christ and his apostles, the times preceding their last destruction; for, after their return front the Babylonish captivity, they were not guilty of idolatry; but these were the sins of their fathers, which God would recompense into their bosoms, according to Isa_65:7 they now filling up the measure of their iniquities, Mat_23:32. 4. PULPIT COMMENTARY, That sacrificeth in gardens (comp. Isa_1:29; Isa_57:5; Isa_66:17). The groves and "gardens" of Daphne, near Antioch. became famous in later times as the scene of 19. idolatrous practices intimately bound up with the grossest and most shameless sensualism. We have few details of the ancient Syrian rites; but there is reason to believe that, wherever Astarte, the Dea Syra, was worshipped, whether at Daphne, or at Hierapolis, or at Balbek, or at Aphek, or at Damascus, or in Palestine, one and the same character of cult prevailed. The nature-goddess was viewed as best worshipped by rites into which sensualism entered as an essential element. Profligacy that cannot be described polluted the consecrated precincts, which were rendered attractive by all that was beautiful and delightful, whether in art or nature-by groves, gardens, statues, fountains, shrines, temples, music, processions, showsand which were in consequence frequented both day and night by a multitude of votaries. And burneth incense upon altars of brick; literally, upon the bricks. It is not clear that "altars" are intended. More probably the incense was burnt upon the tiled or bricked roofs of houses, where the Jews of Jeremiah's time "burned incense unto all the host of heaven" (Jer_19:13; Jer_32:29; Zep_1:5). Brick altars are nowhere mentioned. The Assyrians and Babylonians made their altars of either stone or metal. The Hebrews in early times had altars of earth (Exo_20:24). The "altar of incense" in the tabernacle (Exo_30:1-3) was of wood plated with gold; that of burnt offering, of wood plated with bronze (Exo_27:1, Exo_27:2). Solomon's altars were similar. Elijah on one occasion made an altar of twelve rough stones (1Ki_18:31). The Assyrians used polished stone, as did the Greeks and Romans. 5. JAMISON, continually answering to all the day (Isa_65:2). God was continually inviting them, and they continually offending Him (Deu_32:21). to my face They made no attempt to hide their sin (Isa_3:9). Compare before Me (Exo_20:3). in gardens (See on Isa_1:29; Isa_66:17; Lev_17:5). altars of brick Hebrew, bricks. God had commanded His altars to be of unhewn stone (Exo_20:25). This was in order to separate them, even in external respects, from idolaters; also, as all chiseling was forbidden, they could not inscribe superstitious symbols on them as the heathen did. Bricks were more easily so inscribed than stone; hence their use for the cuneiform inscriptions at Babylon, and also for idolatrous altars. Some, not so well, have supposed that the bricks here mean the flat brick-paved roofs of houses on which they sacrificed to the sun, etc. (2Ki_23:12; Jer_19:13). 6. K&D 3-5, But through this obstinate and unyielding rejection of His love they have excited wrath, which, though long and patiently suppressed, now bursts forth with irresistible violence. The people that continually provoketh me by defying me to my face, sacrificing in the gardens, and burning incense upon the tiles; who sit in the graves, and spend the night in closed places; to eat the flesh of swine, and broken pieces of abominations is in their dishes; who say, Stop! come not too near me; for I am holy to thee: they are a smoke in my nose, a fire blazing continually. (these) in Isa_65:5 is retrospective, summing up the subject as described in Isa_65:3-5, and what follows in Isa_65:5 contains the predicate. The heathenish 20. practices of the exiles are here depicted, and in Isa_65:7 they are expressly distinguished from those of their fathers. Hence there is something so peculiar in the description, that we look in vain for parallels among those connected with the idolatry of the Israelites before the time of the captivity. There is only one point of resemblance, viz., the allusion to gardens as places of worship, which only occurs in the book of Isaiah, and in which our passage, together with Isa_57:5 and Isa_66:17, strikingly coincides with Isa_1:29. Upon my face (al-panai) is equivalent to freely and openly, without being ashamed of me, or fearing me; cf., Job_1:11; Job_6:28; Job_21:31. Burning incense upon the bricks carries us to Babylonia, the true home of the cocti lateres (laterculi). The thorah only mentions le bhenm in connection with Babylonian and Egyptian buildings. The only altars that it allows are altars of earth thrown up, or of unhewn stones and wooden beams with a brazen covering. They who sit in the graves, according to Vitringa, are they who sacrifice to the dead. He refers to the Greek and Roman inferiae and februationes, or expiations for the dead, as probably originating in the East. Sacrifices for the dead were offered, in fact, not only in India and Persia, but also in Hither Asia among the Ssabians, and therefore probably in ancient Mesopotamia and Babylonia. But were they offered in the graves themselves, as we must assume from (not ?) Nothing at all is known of this, and Bttcher (de inferis, 234) is correct in rendering it among (inter) the graves, and supposing the object to be to hold intercourse there with the dead and with demons. The next point, viz., passing the night in closed places (i.e., places not accessible to every one: ne tsurm, custodita = clausa, like ne mm, amaena), may refer to the mysteries celebrated in natural caves and artificial crypts (on the mysteries of the Ssabians, see Chwolsohn, Die Ssabier u. der Ssabismus, ii. 332ff.). But the lxx and Syriac render it , evidently understanding it to refer to the so-called incubare, ; and so Jerome explains it. In the temples of idols, he says, where they were accustomed to lie upon the skins of the victims stretched upon the ground, to gather future events from their dreams. The expression ubhanne tsurm points not so much to open temples, as to inaccessible caves or subterraneous places. G. Rawlinson (Monarchies, ii. 269) mentions the discovery of clay idols in holes below the pavement of palaces. From the next charge, who eat there the flesh of the swine, we may infer that the Babylonians offered swine in sacrifice, if not as a common thing, yet like the Egyptians and other heathen, and ate their flesh (the flesh taken from the sacrifice, 2 Macc. 6:21); whereas among the later Ssabians (Harranians) the swine was not regarded as either edible or fit for sacrifice. On the synecdochical character of the sentence , see at Isa_5:12, cf., Jer_24:2. Knobel's explanation, pieces (but it is not ) of abominations are their vessels, i.e., those of their , is a needless innovation. signifies a stench, putrefaction (Eze_4:14, be sar piggul), then in a concrete sense anything corrupt or inedible, a thing to be abhorred according to the laws of food or the law generally (syn. , ); and when connected with (chethib), which bears the same relation to as crumbs or pieces (from , to crumble) to broth (from , to rub off or scald off), it means a decoction, or broth made either of such kinds of flesh or such parts of the body as were forbidden by the law. The context also points to such heathen sacrifices and sacrificial meals as were altogether at variance with the Mosaic law. For the five following words proceed from the mouths of persons who fancy that they have derived a high degree of sanctity either from the mysteries, or from their participation in rites of peculiar sacredness, so that to every one who abstains from such rites, or does not enter so deeply into 21. them as they do themselves, they call out their odi profanum vulgus et arceo. , keep near to thyself, i.e., stay where you are, like the Arabic idhab ileika, go away to thyself, for take thyself off. (according to some MSS with mercha tifchah), do not push against me (equivalent to or , get away, make room; Gen_19:9; Isa_49:20), for qe dashtikha, I am holy to thee, i.e., unapproachable. The verbal suffix is used for the dative, as in Isa_44:21 (Ges. 121, 4), for it never occurred to any of the Jewish expositors (all of whom give sanctus prae te as a gloss) that the kal qadash was used in a transitive sense, like chazaq in Jer_20:7, as Luther, Calvin, and even Hitzig suppose. Nor is the exclamation the well-meant warning against the communication of a burdensome qe dusshah, which had to be removed by washing before a man could proceed to the duties of every-day life (such, for example, as the qe dusshah of the man who had touched the flesh of a sin-offering, or bee sprinkled with the blood of a sin-offering; Lev_6:20, cf., Eze_44:19; Eze_46:20). It is rather a proud demand to respect the sacro-sanctus, and not to draw down the chastisement of the gods by the want of reverential awe. After this elaborate picture, the men who are so degenerate receive their fitting predicate. They are fuel for the wrath of God, which manifests itself, as it were, in smoking breath. This does not now need for the first time to seize upon them; but they are already in the midst of the fire of wrath, and are burning there in inextinguishable flame. 7. BI, Obstinacy provokes Gods wrath By rejecting His love with stiff-necked obstinacy, they have incurred wrath, which, though long and patiently restrained, now bursts out with uncontrolled violence. The people that continually provokes Me to My face, sacrificing in the gardens, and burning incense on the tiles, who sit in vaults and pass the night in retired places, who eat flesh of swine, and broken pieces of abominable things are in their dishes, who say: Halt: Come not too near me! For I am holy to thee,these are a smoke in My nose, a fire blazing continually. (F. Delitzsch, D. D.) Illegal and superstitious cults The reference to bricks remains unexplained; sitting in the graves was for the purpose of obtaining oracles or dreams from the dead - the so-called incubation. (A. B.Davidson, D. D.) Broth of abominable things Such creatures as are enumerated in Isa_66:17. The sacrifices are boiled and yield a magical hell-broth (W. Robertson Smith) . (Pro/. J. Skinner, D. D.) 22. 8. CALVIN, 3.A people that provoketh me. Here he describes and illustrates more largely in what respects the Jews were rebellious against God. It was because they had forsaken the command of God, and had polluted themselves by various superstitions. He had said a little before, (Isa_63:17,) that the Jews had estranged themselves from God, because they wandered after their inventions; and now he points out the fruit of that licentiousness, that, by giving a loose rein to their thoughts, they overturned the pure worship of God. And undoubtedly this is the origin of all superstitions, that men are delighted with their own inventions, and choose to be wise in their own eyes rather than restrain their senses in obedience to God. In vain do men bring forward their devotions, as they call them, and their good intentions, which God holds in such abhorrence and detestation that they who have followed them are guilty of breaking the covenant and deserting from their allegiance; for there is nothing which we ought to undertake of our own accord, but we ought to obey God when he commands. In a word, the beginning and perfection of lawful worship is a readiness to obey. By the word he describes the impudence of the people, who deliberately, as it were, provoked God, and had no reverence for his majesty so as to submit to his authority. And he heightens the description by sayingTo my face; for since God may be said to be present and actually beheld by those whom he warns by his word, they sin more heinously, and are guilty of greater impudence and rebellion, than those who never heard the word. That sacrificeth in gardens, and offereth incense on bricks. He mentions the which they had consecrated to their idols, and says that they provoked him by them. Some think that are mentioned by way of contempt, and are indirectly contrasted with the altar on which alone God wished that they should sacrifice; and accordingly they think that here he mentions the roofs on which superstitious persons were wont to offer sacrifices; for they were made of But I think that it means simply the altars which they had built for idols; for, although they were not without the plausible pretense of wishing to imitate that form of altar which God had prescribed, yet God abhorred it, because it was contrary to his word. 4 who sit among the graves and spend their nights keeping secret vigil; 23. who eat the flesh of pigs, and whose pots hold broth of impure meat; 1.BARNES, Which remain among the graves - That is, evidently for purposes of necromancy and divination. They do it to appear to hold converse with the dead, and to receive communications from them. The idea in necromancy was, that departed spirits must be acquainted with future events, or at least with the secret things of the invisible world where they dwelt, and that certain persons, by various arts, could become intimate with them, or familiar with them, and, by obtaining their secrets, be able to communicate important truths to the living. It seems to have been supposed that this acquaintance might be increased by lodging in the tombs and among the monuments, that they might thus be near to the dead, and have more intimate communion with them (compare the notes at Isa_8:19-20). It is to be recollected, that tombs among the ancients, and especially in Oriental countries, were commonly excavations from the sides of hills, or frequently were large caves. Such places would furnish spacious lodgings for those who chose to reside there, and were, in fact, often resorted to by those who had no houses, and by robbers (see Mat_8:28; Mar_5:3). And lodge in the monuments - Evidently for some purpose of superstition and idolatry. There is, however, some considerable variety in the exposition of the word rendered here monuments, as well as in regard to the whole passage. The word rendered lodge ( yaliynu), means properly to pass the night, and refers not to a permanent dwelling in any place, but to remaining over night; and the probability is, that they went to the places referred to, to sleep - in order that they might receive communications in their dreams from idols, by being near them, or in order that they might have communication with departed spirits. The word rendered monuments ( netsur ym) is derived from natsar, to watch, to guard, to keep; then to keep from view, to hide - and means properly hidden recesses; and dark and obscure retreats. It may be applied either to the adyta or secret places of pagan temples where their oracles were consulted and many of their rites were performed; or it may be applied to sepulchral caverns, the dark and hidden places where the dead were buried. The Septuagint renders it, They sleep in tombs and in caves ( en tois spelaiois) for the purpose of dreaming ( dia enupnia); in allusion to the custom of sleeping in the temples, or near the oracles of their gods, for the purpose of obtaining from them communications by dreams. This custom is not unfrequently alluded to by the ancient writers. An instance of this kind occurs in Virgil: - huc dona sacerdos Cum tulit, et caesarum ovium sub nocte silenti Pellibus incubuit stratis, somnosque petivit: Multa modis simulacra videt volitantia miris, Et varias audit voces, fruiturque Deorum, Colloquio, atque imis Acheronta affatur Avernis. AEaeid, vii. 86-91. Here in distress the Italian nations come, Anxious to clear their doubts and earn their doom; First on the fleeces of the slaughterd sheep, By night the sacred priest dissolves in sleep; 24. When in a train before his slumbering eye, Their airy forms and wondrous visions fly: He calls the powers who guard the infernal floods, And talks inspired familiar with the gods. Pitt In the temples of Serapis and AEsculapius, it was common for the sick and infirm who came there to be cured, to sleep there, with the belief that the proper remedy would be communicated by dreams. The following places may also be referred to as illustrating this custom: Pausan. Phoc. 31; Cic. Divin. i. 43; Strabo vi. 3, 9; S. H. Meibom. De incubatione in fanta Deorum olim facta. Helmst. 1659, 4. Lowth and Noyes render it, In caverns. The Chaldee renders it, Who dwelt in houses which are built of the dust of sepulchres, and abide with the dead bodies of dead people. There can be no doubt that the prophet here alludes to some such custom of sleeping in the tombs, for the alleged purpose of conversing with the dead, or in temples for the purpose of communion with the idols by dreams, or with the expectation that they would receive responses by dreams (compare the notes at Isa_14:9) Which eat swines flesh - This was expressly forbidden by the Jewish law Lev_11:7, and is held in abomination by the Jews now. Yet the flesh of the swine was freely eaten by the pagan; and when the Jews conformed to their customs in other respects, they doubtless forgot also the law commanding a distinction to be made in meats. Antiochus Epiphanes compelled the Jews to eat swines flesh as a token of their submission, and of their renouncing their religion. The case of Eleazer, who chose to die as a martyr, rather than give such a proof that he had renounced his religion, and who preferred death rather than to dissemble, is recorded in 2 Macc. 6:19-31. See also the affecting case of the mother and her seven sons, who all died in a similar manner, in 2 Macc. 7. Yet it seems that, in the time of Isaiah, they had no such devotedness to their national religion. They freely conformed to the nations around them, and thus gave public demonstration that they disregarded the commands of Yahweh. It is also to be observed, that swine were often sacrificed by the pagan, and were eaten in their feasts in honor of idols. The crime here referred to, therefore, was not merely that of partaking of the flesh, but it was that of joining with the pagan in idolatrous sacrifices. Thus Ovid says: Prima Ceres avidae gavisa est sanguine porcae, Ulta suas merita caede nocentis opes. Fastor, i. 349 So Horace: - immolet aequis Hic porcum Laribus - Serm. ii. 164 Thus, Varro (De Re Rustic. ii. 4), says The swine is called in Greek hus (formerly thus), and was so called from the word which signifies to sacrifice ( thuein), for the swine seem first to have been used in sacrifices. Of this custom we have vestiges in the fact, that the first sacrifices to Ceres are of the swine; and that in the beginning of peace, when a treaty is made, a hog is sacrificed; and that in the beginning of marriage contracts in Etruria, the new wife and the new husband first sacrifice a hog. The primitive Latins, and also the Greeks in Italy, seem to have done the same thing. Spencer (De Leg. Heb i. 7) supposes that this was done often in caves and dark recesses, and that the prophet refers to this custom here. If this view be correct, then the offence consisted not merely in eating swines flesh, but in eating it in connection with sacrifices, or joining with the pagan in their idolatrous worship. 25. And broth of abominable things - Margin, Pieces. Lowth says that this was for lustrations, magical arts, and other superstitious and abominable practices. The word rendered here broth, and in the margin pieces ( paraq), is derived from the verb paraq, to break (whence the Latin frango; the Goth. brikan; the Germ. breoken; and the English break), and means that which is broken, or a fragment; and hence, broth or soup, from the fragments or crumbs of bread over which the broth is poured. The Septuagint renders this, And all their vessels are polluted. It is not improbable that the broth or soup used here was in some way employed in arts of incantation or necromancy. Compare Shakespeares account of the witches in Macbeth: 1. Witch: Where hast thou been, sister? 2. Witch: Killing swine. Act i. Sc. 3. Hec: Your vessels and your spells provide, Your charms, and everything beside. Act iii. Sc. 5. 1. Witch: Round about the caldron go, In the poisond entrails throw, Toad that under the cold stone, Days and nights hath thirty-one, Fillet of a finny snake, In the caldron boil and bake, Eye of newt, and toe of frog, Wool of bat, and tongue of dog, Adders fork, and blind worms sting, Lizards leg, and howlets wing, For a charm of powerful trouble, Like a hell-broth boil and bubble. Act iv. Sc. 1. It seems probable that some such magical incantations were used in the time of Isaiah. Such things are known to have been practiced in regions of idolatry (see Marco Polo, De Region. Orient., iii. 24). When the priests of the idol, says he, wish to engage in sacred things, they call the consecrated girls, and with them, in the presence of the idols, they engage in the dance, and sing aloud. These girls bear with them vessels of food, which they place on the table before the idols, and they entreat the gods to eat of the food, and particularly they pour out broth made of flesh before them, that they may appease them. The whole scene here described by the prophet is one connected with idolatry and magical incantations; and the prophet means to rebuke them for having forsaken God and fallen into all the abominable and stupid arts of idolaters. It was not merely that they had eaten the flesh of swine, or that they had made broth of unclean meats - which would have been minor, though real offences - it was that they had fallen into all the abominable practices connected with idolatry and necromancy. 2. CLARKE, Which remain among the graves - For the purpose of evoking the dead. They lodged in desert places that demons might appear to them; for demons do appear in such places, to those who do believe in them. - Kimchi. 26. In the monuments In the caverns - bannetsurim, a word of doubtful signification. An ancient MS. has batstsurim, another batstsurim, in the rocks; and Le Clec thinks the Septuagint had it so in their copy. They render it by , in the caves. Which eat swines flesh - This was expressly forbidden by the law, Lev_11:7, but among the heathen was in principal request in their sacrifices and feasts. Antiochus Epiphanes compelled the Jews to eat swines flesh, as a full proof of their renouncing their religion, 2 Maccabees 6:18 and 7:1. And the broth of abominable meats, for lustrations, magical arts, and other superstitious and abominable practices. In their vessels - For keleyhem, a MS. had at first bichleyhem. So the Vulgate and Chaldee, (and the preposition seems necessary to the sense), in their vessels. 3. GILL, Which remain among the graves,.... In order to practise necromancy, to consult the dead, where they imagined demons and departed spirits haunted, and of whom they fancied they might get knowledge of future things: and lodge in the monuments: whole nights for the same purposes. The Vulgate Latin version is, "that sleep in the temples of idols"; after the manner of the Heathens, who used to sleep there in order to obtain dreams, whereby they might be able to foretell things to come, as they did in the temple of Aesculapius; or, "in desolate places" (k), as Kimchi and Ben Melech interpret it; where they expected to meet with demons and noxious spirits, to give them knowledge of things to come. The Targum paraphrases both clauses thus, "who dwell in houses built of the dust of graves, and lodge with the corpse of the children of men;'' so corpse, according to Jarchi, are expressed by this word, which signifies "kept", or "preserved" (l), as in Isa_49:6, because they are put in a strait place, from whence they cannot get out; though some think idols are meant, called so by way of derision, because kept for fear of being stolen, or because they cannot keep themselves, nor their votaries: which eat swine's flesh; forbidden by the law, Lev_11:7, and broth of abominable things is in their vessels; or "pots": broth made of swine's flesh, and of other sorts of flesh which were unclean by the law. Our version follows the marginal (m) reading; as do the Targum, Aben Ezra, Jarchi, and Kimchi; but the written text is, "a fragment" (n), or piece, or pieces, of abominable things; both may be retained in the sense of the passage; slices of flesh unclean, and so abominable by the law, were put into their pots and stewed, and made broth of, which they drank. Spencer (o) thinks the milk in which kids were boiled is meant, which the Zabians kept in vessels, and sprinkled on the trees in their gardens, to make them more fruitful; hence mention is made of idolatrous practices in gardens, in the preceding verse. 27. 4. PULPIT COMMENTARY, Which remain among the graves. The rock tombs of Palestine seem to be meant. Persons "remained among" these, in spite of the ceremonial defilement thereby incurred, either with the object of raising the dead, and obtaining prophecies from them, or of getting prophetic intimations made to them in dreams (see Jerome's 'Comment.,' ad loc.). And lodge in the monuments; or, in the crypts. "N'tsurim may refer to the mysteries celebrated in natural caves and artificial crypts" (Delitzsch). An account of such mysteries is given by Chwolsohn in his' Die Ssabier und der Ssabismus,' vol. it. pp. 332, et seq. Which eat swine's flesh. Not in mere defiance of the Law, but in sacrificial meals (Isa_66:17) of which swine's flesh formed a part. Swine were sacrificial animals in Egypt (Herod; 2.47, 48), in Phoenicia (Lucian, 'De Dea Syra,' 54), and with the Greeks and Romans. They do not appear to have been employed for the purpose either by the Assyrians or the Babylonians. It was probably in Palestine that the Jews had eaten "swine's flesh," at sacrifices to Baal or Astarte (Ashtoreth). In later times to do so was regarded as one of the worst abominations (1 Macc. 1:41-64; 2 Macc, 6; 7.). Broth of abominable things. Either broth made from swine's flesh, or from the flesh of other unclean animals, as the hare and rabbit (Le Rom_11:5, Rom_11:6), or perhaps simply broth made from the flesh of any animals that had been offered to idols (Act_15:29). 5. JAMISON, remain among ... graves namely, for purposes of necromancy, as if to hold converse with the dead (Isa_8:19, Isa_8:20; compare Mar_5:3); or, for the sake of purifications, usually performed at night among sepulchres, to appease the manes [Maurer]. monuments Hebrew, pass the night in hidden recesses, either the idols inmost shrines (consecrated precincts) [Horsley], where they used to sleep, in order to have divine communications in dreams [Jerome]; or better, on account of the parallel graves, sepulchral caves [Maurer]. eat swines flesh To eat it at all was contrary to Gods law (Lev_11:7), but it much increased their guilt that they ate it in idolatrous sacrifices (compare Isa_66:17). Varro (On Agriculture, 2.4) says that swine were first used in sacrifices; the Latins sacrificed a pig to Ceres; it was also offered on occasion of treaties and marriages. broth so called from the pieces (Margin) or fragments of bread over which the broth was poured [Gesenius]; such broth, made of swines flesh, offered in sacrifice, was thought to be especially acceptable to the idol and was used in magic rites. Or, fragments (pieces) of abominable foods, etc. This fourth clause explains more fully the third, as the second does the first [Maurer]. is in rather, literally, is their vessels, that is, constitute their vessels contents. The Jews, in our Lords days, and ever since the return from Babylon, have been free from idolatry; still the imagery from idolatrous abominations, as being the sin most loathsome in Gods eyes and that most prevalent in Isaiahs time, is employed to describe the foul sin of Israel in all ages, culminating in their killing Messiah, and still rejecting Him. 6. K&D, 28. 7. CALVIN, 4.Who dwell in the graves. He enumerates other kinds of superstitions; and although, in consequence of its brevity, the description is obscure, yet we may easily learn from other passages what was the nature of them. For as necromancy was generally practiced among heathen nations, the Jews also consulted demons graves and deserts, instead of consulting God alone, which they ought to have done; and, as if they were seeking answers from the dead, they took pleasure in being deceived by the illusions of demons. (200) How solemnly the Lord had forbidden it, appears very clearly from Deu_18:10, and other passages; and we have seen something of this kind in a former part of this book, (Isa_8:19.) In general we are taught that God demands nothing more than obedience, which he prefers to slain beasts and sacrifices. (1Sa_15:22.) Who eat swine flesh. Formerly he complained that the worship of God was polluted by strange inventions; and now he adds that they set aside every distinction, so that they do not distinguish between the clean and the unclean; and he brings forward a single instance, that they do not abstain from flesh. But it may be thought that this was a small matter. Very far from it; for we ought not to judge from our own opinion, but from that of the legislator, how heinous a sin it is; and nothing which the Lord has forbidden ought to be reckoned trivial. (Lev_11:7; Deu_14:8.) This related to the external profession of. faith, by which the Jews were in duty bound to testify how widely they differed from the pollution of the Gentiles. From that rule, therefore, which the Lord enjoins upon us, we must not swerve even a hair breadth.(201) (200) Des esprits malins. wicked spirits. (201) Non pas mesmes de l d ongle. even the thickness of a nail. 5 who say, Keep away; dont come near me, for I am too sacred for you! Such people are smoke in my nostrils, a fire that keeps burning all day. 29. 1.BARNES, Which say, Stand by thyself - Who at the time that they engage in these abominations are distinguished for spiritual pride. The most worthless people are commonly the most proud; and they who have wandered farthest from God have in general the most exalted idea of their own goodness. It was a characteristic of a large part of the Jewish nation, and especially of the Pharisees, to be self-righteous and proud. A striking illustration of this we have in the following description of the Hindu yogis, by Roberts: Those men are so isolated by their superstition and penances, that they hold but little contact with the rest of mankind. They wander about in the dark in the place of burning the dead, or among the graves; there they affect to hold converse with evil and other spirits; and there they pretend to receive intimations respecting the destinies of others. They will eat things which are religiously clean or unclean; they neither wash their bodies, nor comb their hair, nor cut their nails, nor wear clothes. They are counted to be most holy among the people, and are looked upon as beings of another world. These are a smoke in my nose - Margin, Anger. The word rendered nose ( 'aph) means sometimes nose Num_11:20; Job_40:24, and sometimes anger, because anger is evinced by hard breathing. The Septuagint renders this, This is the smoke of my anger. But the correct idea is, probably, that their conduct was offensive to God, as smoke is unpleasant or painful in the nostrils; or as smoke excites irritation when breathed, so their conduct excited displeasure (Rosenmuller). Or it may mean, as Lowth suggests, that their conduct kindled a smoke and a fire in his nose as the emblems of his wrath. There is probably an allusion to their sacrifices here. The smoke of their sacrifices constantly ascending was unpleasant and provoking to God. A fire that burneth all the day - The idea here probably is, that their conduct kindled a fire of indignation that was continually breathed out upon them. A similar figure occurs in Deu_32:22 : For a fire is kindled in mine anger, or in my nose ( be 'app y), and shall burn unto the lowest hell. So in Psa_18:8 : There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, And fire out of his mouth devoured. Compare Eze_38:18. 2. CLARKE, For I am holier than thou - So the Chaldee renders it. kedashticha is the same with kadashti mimmecha. In the same manner chazaktani, Jer_20:7, is used for chazacta mimmenni, thou art stronge