Isaías 2
Charles Spurgeon · Citado em PreceptAustin
Isaías 2:5-9
Spurgeon comments: Chariots and horses make an imposing show, and with their rattling, and dust, and fine caparisons, make so great a figure that vain man is much taken with them; yet the discerning eye of faith sees more in an invisible God than in all these. The most dreaded war engine of David's day was the war chariot, armed with scythes, which mowed down men like grass: this was the boast and glory of the neighbouring nations; but the saints considered the name of Jehovah to be a far better defence. As the Israelites might not keep horses, it was natural for them to regard the enemy's calvary with more than usual dread. It is, therefore, all the greater evidence of faith that the bold songster can here disdain even the horse of Egypt in comparison with the Lord of hosts. Alas, how many in our day who profess to be the Lord's are as abjectly dependent upon their fellow men or upon an arm of flesh in some shape or other, as if they had never known the name of Jehovah at all. Jesus, be thou alone our rock and refuge, and never may we mar the simplicity of our faith. We will remember the name of the Lord our God. "Our God" in covenant, who has chosen us and whom we have chosen; this God is our God. The name of our God is JEHOVAH, and this should never be forgotten; the self existent, independent, immutable, ever present, all filling I AM. Let us adore that matchless name, and never dishonour it by distrust or creature confidence. Reader, you must know it before you can remember it. May the blessed Spirit reveal it graciously to your soul! William Plumer - Vain is the confidence of all wickedness. In war, chariots, horses, navies, numbers, discipline, former successes, are relied on; but the battle is not to the strong. "Providence favours the strong battalions" may sound well in a worldling's ear, but neither Providence nor the Bible so teaches. If peace, riches, friends, ships, farms, stocks, are relied upon, yet they can neither help nor save. Let him who glories, glory in the Lord. "Some their warrior horses boast, Some their chariots marshalled host; But our trust we will proclaim In our God Jehovah's name." Richard Mant Isaiah 2:8 Their land has also been filled with idols; They worship the work of their hands, That which their fingers have made. (NASB: Lockman) English Translation of the Greek (Septuagint): And the land is filled with abominations, even the works of their hands; and they have worshipped the works which their fingers made. Amplified: Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, what their own fingers have made. (Amplified Bible - Lockman) KJV: Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made: NET: Their land is full of worthless idols; they worship the product of their own hands, what their own fingers have fashioned. (NET Bible) NJB: the country is full of idols. They bow down before the work of their hands, before what their own fingers have made. (NJB) NLT: Their land has also been filled with idols; They worship the work of their hands, That which their fingers have made. (NLT - Tyndale House) Young's Literal: And its land is full of idols, To the work of its hands it boweth itself, To that which its fingers have made, Their land has also been filled with idols. They worship the work of their hands, that which their fingers have made: Is 57:5; 2Chr 27:2; 28:2, 3, 4,23, 24, 25; 33:3, 4, 5, 6, 7; Jeremiah 2:28; 11:13; Ezekiel 16:23, 24, 25; Hosea 12:11; Acts 17:16 Isa 37:19; 44:15-20; Deuteronomy 4:28; Ps 115:4-8; Hosea 8:6; 13:2; 14:3; Revelation 9:20 SATIATED WITH SEMBLANCE Semblance means the outward appearance or apparent form of something, especially when the reality is different. In the people's eyes man made creations were worshipped and served as if they were gods, when in fact they were not gods at all (Isa 37:19, Jer 16:20, Acts 19:26, Gal 4:8, cp 1Cor 8:4, Ps 115:4-8 = "Those who make them will become like them!"). Their land - Judah and Jerusalem. Jotham and Ahaz, two of the kings under whom Isaiah prophesied, failed to remove the idolatrous high places from the Land (2Ki 15:35; 16:4). Filled (04390 )(male) is the third uses of this vivid word in this indictment against Judah. It can have a spatial sense (which is the case in this verse), as when the locusts filled the houses of the Egyptians (Ex 10:6) or the wine press (cp Re 14:19, 20, 19:15) being filled (figuratively speaking of wickedness) (Joel 3:13). As in the other two uses above the Septuagint (LXX) uses the verb empiplemi (also used by the Lxx in Is 2:6, 7, 8, 9:19; 11:3, 9; 13:21; 14:21; 21:3; 22:2; 23:18; 27:6; 29:19; 31:4; 33:5; 34:6, 7; 44:16; 58:10, 11; 65:20; 66:11) which means to completely take up the space of something or to provide a sufficient amount (to satisfy - something idols can NEVER do!) See above for discussion of what fills someone will control them! ABOMINABLE, DETESTABLE IDOLS Filled with idols - This is the first use of the word idols in Isaiah. It was not that Judah and Jerusalem just had idols or practiced idolatry, but that they were "filled to the brim" with abominable lifeless idols! Ponder the paradox - filled on one hand versus nothingness (the meaning of the Hebrew noun elilim)! Idols are the ultimate vanity of vanities, like chasing after the wind, grasping after that which yields nothingness! Ro 1:21-24ff is a good commentary on this verse - "For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God, or give thanks; but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, that their bodies might be dishonored among them (cp God's just judgment in Isaiah 2:9)." O, the folly of idolatry! Lord keep us from idols of whatever size, shape or class we might find ourselves tempted to bow down to. Amen It is interesting that in a survey of the OT prophets, idols and idolatry per se are not a common theme (except in Ezekiel, Hosea, Isa 40-55), the other prophets being more concerned with the moral offenses of God's people. In Is 2:6-22, the primary focus of the "attack" is pride. Related Resources: Greek Word studies on - Idols = eidolon; Idolater = eidololatres; Idolatry = eidololatreia Idols (0457) (elil [plural = elilim]) (Used in Is 2:8, 18, 20; 10:10, 11; 19:1, 3; 31:7) describes that which is worthless, good for nothing, of no value (cp powerlessness). The spelling of the Hebrew word for idol is very close to the Hebrew word for God (= el) (and some etymologists suggest it is actually a diminutive of the Hebrew word for God). The term for God however relates to the idea of strength or power, which makes Isaiah's contrast with "nothing" (eliyl) all that more pointed and dramatic! Worthless and good for nothing is a fitting name for objects of worship made by human hands! God's assessment of any "god" but Himself is that “all gods of the peoples are nought (nothing)” (Ps 96:5YLT = 1Chr 16:26YLT) Eliyl - 18v in the OT - Lev. 19:4; 26:1; 1 Chr. 16:26; Job 13:4; Ps. 96:5; 97:7; Is 2:8, 18, 20; 10:10, 11; 19:1, 3; 31:7; Jer. 14:14; Ezek. 30:13; Hab. 2:18; Zech. 11:17 Habakkuk has a classic parody of idols asking… What profit is the idol when its maker has carved it, or an image (KJV = molten image), a teacher of falsehood (lies)? For its maker trusts in his own handiwork when he fashions speechless idols (elilim). 19 "Woe to him who says to a piece of wood, 'Awake!' To a dumb stone, 'Arise!' And that is your teacher? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, And there is no breath at all inside it. 20 "But the LORD is in His holy temple. Let all the earth be silent before Him." (Hab 2:18, 19, 20) Comment: Observe the contrast of lifeless idols with the living LORD, and those who call the idols to "Awake… arise" are told to be silent before the Lord. The following is a Biblical summary of eliyl - They are the product of human hands (Is 2:8, 20; 31:7; Lv 26:1), and one can therefore discard them (Is 31:7); they are dumb (Hab 2:18); they quiver before Yahweh (Is 19:1) and vanish before Him (Is 2:18). The expression eliyl recalls the impotence and the insignificance of these strange gods. The force of the term is probably most clearly seen in Ps 96:5YLT “for all gods of the peoples are nothing, but Yahweh made the heavens.” Elilim often parallels other words related to idols - pesel/pāsîl “sculpted image” (Is 10:10; Lv 26:1; Hab 2:18; Ps 97:7), 'atsab “carved image” (Isa 10:11), gilluwl “idols” (Ezek 30:13), and massēkâh “molten image” (Lv 19:4; Hab 2:18). Eissfeldt (TLOTOT) summarizes the OT designations for “idol” into five groups according to the OT Scriptures… (1) Derogatory terms: bōšet “shame” (bos = to be ashamed), šiqqûs “horrible thing,” tôebâ “abomination” (tb = abhor), hattat "sin” (ht' = to miss a mark, fall short), 'ēmâ “horror”; (2) Terms that deny the existence of the gods represented by the idols: hebel “vapor, breath,” šeqer “lie” (šqr = to deceive), šāw “vanity, deceit” elîl “nothing,” lō-ēl (no god) and lō-elōhîm “not-god” (3) Terms that deny idols divine dignity and relegate them to the sphere of the lower, evil spirits: śeîrîm “satyrs,” šēdîm “demons,” → āwen “harm, disaster, evil power”; (4) Designations that declare them to be foreign and so more or less explicitly describe them as useless: phrases with ahēr “other”, zār “foreign, strange, different” (verbal adjective of the root of zur = to turn away), nēkār “strange, foreign” → hādāš “new”; (5) Designations that identify them with their images and so declare them to be lifeless matter: massēkâ and nesek “molten image,” pesel and pāsîl “sculpted image,” ōseb and āsāb “carved image,” → selem and semel “carved image,” gillûlîm “(hewn) blocks of stone,” sîr “image,” maśkît “showpiece,” and neśûâ “processional image.” The Septuagint (LXX) renders elilim variously, most frequently with cheiropoiēta “human product” (6x) and eidola “idols” (4x). Paul describes the vanity of idols writing to the Corinthians that… concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that there is no such thing as an idol in the world, and that there is no God but one. (1Co 8:4) The TWOT says that eliyl "comes perhaps from a root meaning “to be weak, deficient.” It is used primarily in Scripture to describe vain objects of worship, i.e. the gods of this world, whether literal idols made with hands, riches, or deceitful men. In Lv 19:4, its first appearance, the word is parallel to “molten gods” (cf. Lv 26:1). It is also applied to any works of one’s hands as an object of worship (Is 2:8; Hab 2:18). In Isaiah’s day, Jerusalem and Samaria were described as kingdoms of idols, i.e. a people who worshipped vain things (Is 10:10,11). Such idols were classed along with divination and lies (Je 14:14). They were clearly good for nothing (Is 2:20; 31:7). They even included people in whom men trusted but who were deceitful and of no value (Job 13:4; Isa 19:3; Zech 11:17). In Scripture they are contrasted to the true God, the Lord, the Creator (Ps 96:5) and before him they tremble (Isa 19:1), are put to shame (Ps 97:7), and are destroyed (Is 2:18) (Harris, R L, Archer, G L & Waltke, B K Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament. Moody Press) Eliyl here in Isa 2:8 is translated in the Septuagint (LXX) by the Greek word bdelugma (from bdelusso = emit a foal odor, from bdeo = to stink!) which is literally a foul (as that which causes a stench), loathsome, detestable or abominable thing (used in the Lxx of 1K 11:6, 2Ki 16:3 "abominations"). Bdelugma thus is that which is (or at least should be) extremely hated, abhorred or disgusting. Indeed idols are utterly detestable and cause a stench in God's nostrils! We as men, do not fully comprehend God's utter hatred of idols and if we did I dare say we would be horrified that we still choose to trifle with them from time to time! In Rev 17:4 bdelugma is used in the description of Babylon… And the woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a gold cup full of abominations and of the unclean things of her immorality (Revelation 17:4-note) Tony
Isaías 2:18-22
Spurgeon commenting on David's psalm writes… Dwelling among the crags and mountain fastnesses of Judea David had escaped the malice of Saul, and here he compares his God to such a place of concealment and security. Believers are often hidden in their God from the strife of tongues and the fury of the storm of trouble. The clefts of the Rock of Ages are safe abodes. My Deliverer, interposing in my hour of peril. When almost captured the Lord's people are rescued from the hand of the mighty by him who is mightier still. This title of "deliverer" has many sermons in it, and is well worthy of the study of all experienced saints. (Play: My Deliverer) My God; this is all good things in one. There is a boundless wealth in this expression; it means, my perpetual, unchanging, infinite, eternal good. He who can say truly "my God," may well add, "my heaven, my all." (Play You are My All in All) My Strength; this word is really my Rock, in the sense of strength and immobility. My sure, unchanging, eternal confidence and support. Thus the word rock occurs twice, but it is no tautology, for the first time it is a rock for concealment (You Are My Hiding Place-As The Deer), but here a rock for firmness and immutability. In Whom I will trust. Faith must be exercised, or the preciousness of God is not truly known; and God must be the object of faith, or faith is mere presumption. My buckler (My Shield), warding off the blows of my enemy, shielding me from arrow or sword. The Lord furnishes his warriors with weapons both offensive and defensive. Our armory is completely stored so that none need go to battle unarmed. The Horn of my salvation, enabling me to push down my foes, and to triumph over them with holy exultation. My high tower (My Stronghold) (Watermark -You Are My Stronghold), a citadel high planted on a rocky eminence beyond the reach of my enemies, from the heights of which I look down upon their fury without alarm, and survey a wide landscape of mercy reaching even unto the goodly land beyond Jordan. Here are many words, but none too many; we might profitably examine each one of them had we leisure, but summing up the whole, we may conclude with Calvin, that David here equips the faithful from head to foot. Terror (06343) (pachad) means a dread, fear, terror, panic. It is either a strong emotion of fear or terror and was often caused by the Lord (1Sa 11:7; Job 13:11; Is 2:10, 19, 21). This same dread could cause trembling (Job 13:11; Ps. 119:120). Pachad implies a fear which is caused by an enemy or inflicted by God Himself (2Chr 20:29). Pachad (Fear) is even used as a name for God (see Ge 31:42, 31:53). The fear of the Lord was so central to Isaac’s concept of God that one of his names for God was “Fear”! One can either have the rightful fear of Isaac or the terrifying fear of a rebellious unbeliever. Take your choice. It will make all the difference "out of this world" (i.e, in the world to come - either heaven or hell)! Splendor (01926) (hadar) means glory and describes the character of God here and in (1Chr 16:27), where His great magnificence and brightness (as the splendor of the sun with its rays) causes sinners to flee from His presence. The Septuagint (Lxx) translates hadar with the noun doxa which in simple terms means to give a proper opinion or estimate of something and thus the glory of God expresses all that He is in His Being and in His nature, character, power and acts. He is glorified when He is allowed to be seen as He really is. To be where God is will be glory. To be what God intended will be glory. To do what God purposed will be glory. Ryrie adds that the glory of God "is the manifestation of any or all of His attributes. In other words, it is the displaying of God to the world. Thus, things which glorify God are things which show the characteristics of His being to the world." This verse is reminiscent of John's introduction to the Revelation of Jesus Christ… BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. Even so. Amen. (Rev 1:7-note) Tony