Levítico 26
John MacArthur · Citado em PreceptAustin
Levítico 26
MacArthur reminds us that in that day "Dangerous animals such as lions and bears existed in that area. Joseph’s brothers claimed that such an animal had killed him (Ge 37:20)." George Bush - Leviticus Notes Critical and Practical - Leviticus 26 I will give peace in your land. Freedom from intestine commotions and insurrections, which often arise from poverty and discontent. The language seems rather to refer to peace among themselves, while the ‘sword in the latter clause of the verse points rather to the ravages of war from foreign invasion. The blessings here promised, it will be noticed, are set in contrast with the main judgments which are elsewhere denounced against the Israelites, Ezek. 14:21, to wit, famine, war, and evil beasts. See also Note on v. 21. Leviticus 26:7 'But you will chase your enemies and they will fall before you by the sword; Leviticus 26 Commentaries - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries But - term of contrast You will chase your enemies and they will fall before you by the sword - God's promise of blessing continues in this case speaking of military prowess and power. George Bush - Leviticus Notes Critical and Practical - Leviticus 26 Ye shall chase your enemies, &c. That is, a few, a mere handful, shall be more than a match for a great multitude, as it proved in the conquest of Canaan; insomuch that Joshua says, enlarging upon this promise, Josh. 23:10, ‘One man of you shall chase a thousand.’ This was signally fulfilled in the days of Gideon who with three men put to flight a vast army, Judg. 7:22. So also in the case of David’s worthies, of whom one lifted his spear against eight hundred, and slew three hundred at one time, 2 Sam. 23:8, 18, 1 Chron. 11:11. Three men also broke through the host of the Philistines, 1 Chron. 11:18. Comp. Deut. 32:30. Leviticus 26:8 five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and your enemies will fall before you by the sword. Nu 14:9 Dt 28:7 32:30 Jos 23:10 Judges 7:19-21 1 Sa 14:6-16 1 Sa 17:45-52 1 Chr 11:11,20 Ps 81:14,15 Leviticus 26 Commentaries - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand: This description is an indicator of God's supernatural intervention in protecting obedient Israel. This underdog-turned-conqueror theme is reiterated in other passages that clearly give the credit and glory to God.... “How could one chase a thousand, And two put ten thousand to flight, Unless their Rock had sold them, And the LORD had given them up? (Dt 32:30) “One of your men puts to flight a thousand, for (term of explanation) the LORD your God is He who fights for you, just as He promised you.(Josh 23:10) HCSB Note - The 1 to 20 and 1 to 100 proportions point to the miraculous victories over their enemies with which God would reward His people if they obeyed His commandments. Leviticus 26:9 'So I will turn toward you and make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will confirm My covenant with you. for I (KJV): Ex 2:25 2Ki 13:23 Ne 2:20 Ps 89:3 138:6,7 Jer 33:3 Heb 8:9 make you (KJV): Ge 17:6,7,20 26:4 28:3,14 Ex 1:7 De 28:4,11 Ne 9:23 Ps 107:38 establish (KJV): Ge 6:18 17:7 Ex 6:4 Isa 55:3 Eze 16:62 Lu 1:72 Leviticus 26 Commentaries - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries SO - term of conclusion I will turn toward you and make you fruitful and multiply you. See Ge 1:22; contrast Lev 26:22. I will confirm My covenant with you: in context (cp Lev 26:1-2) this passage seems to refer to Mosaic covenant but it is difficult to be certain. NLT Study Bible - The Promised Land should have brought a state of security and prosperity, a state of "rest" to the Israelites (Ex 33:14; Deut 12:10; 25:19; Josh 1:13,15). Israel succeeded in entering the Promised Land, but their rebellion kept them from seeing the covenant fulfilled. George Bush - Leviticus Notes Critical and Practical - Leviticus 26 For I will have respect unto you. Heb. פניתי אליכם panithi alëkem, I will turn my face unto you. Gr. επιβλεψω εφʼ ‘υμας και αυξανῶ ‘υμας, I will look upon you and bless you. Chal. ‘I will bate respect by my Word to do good unto you.’ For this favor David prays, Ps. 25:16, and 69:17, and when God had delivered Israel from their enemies, it is said, 2 Kings 13:23, ‘The Lord was gracious onto them, and had respect unto them, because of his covenant.’ Establish my covenant with you. That is, inviolably keep my covenant already established, and faithfully perform its every stipulation. Leviticus 26:10 'You will eat the old supply and clear out the old because of the new. Lev 25:22 Jos 5:11 2 Ki 19:29 Lu 12:17 Leviticus 26 Commentaries - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries You will eat the old supply and clear out the old because of the new. - Once again the emphasis is on the abundance of God's blessing as a reward for their obedience. George Bush - Leviticus Notes Critical and Practical - Leviticus 26 Ye shall out old store, &c. That is, to prevent waste from superabundance, ye shall eat of your old stock of provisions, notwithstanding the new crop has come in. Bring forth the old because of the new. That is, ye shall be forced to ‘bring forth,’ or remove from your barns and garners, the old stock of your com, in order to make room for the new. Leviticus 26:11 'Moreover, I will make My dwelling among you, and My soul will not reject you. I will (KJV): Ex 25:8 29:45 Jos 22:19 1Ki 8:13,27 Ps 76:2 78:68,69 Ps 132:13,14 Eze 37:26-28 Eph 2:22 Rev 21:3 abhor (KJV): Lev 20:23 De 32:19 Ps 78:59 106:40 Jer 14:21 La 2:7 Zec 11:8 Leviticus 26 Commentaries - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries kai theso (1SFAI) ten diatheken mou en humin kai ou bdeluxetai (3SFMI - abhor, detest, loathe something Ro2.22) e psuche mou humas LXE And I will set my tabernacle among you, and my soul shall not abhor you ESV I will make my dwelling among you, and my soul shall not abhor you. KJV And I will set my tabernacle among you: and my soul shall not abhor you. NET "'I will put my tabernacle in your midst and I will not abhor you. NIV I will put my dwelling place among you, and I will not abhor you. NLT I will live among you, and I will not despise you. YLT 'And I have given My tabernacle in your midst, and My soul doth not loathe you; GOD'S PROMISE TO TABERNACLE AMONG HIS PEOPLE MOREOVER I WILL MAKE MY DWELLING AMONG YOU “I will dwell among the sons of Israel and will be their God. They shall know that I am the LORD their God who brought them out of the land of Egypt, that I might dwell among them; I am the LORD their God. (Ex 29:45,46) HCSB Note - The promise of divine fellowship is rendered by the phrase, I will place My residence among you. The "residence" is literally a "tabernacle." This is a direct parallel to Jn 1:14-note, where John affirmed that Jesus, the Word, became flesh and "took up residence" or "tabernacled" among us. Dwelling (Tabernacle) (04908)(mishkan from verb shakan = to settle down, to abide, to dwell) is a masculine noun which means dwelling place or sanctuary and is most often translated "tabernacle." And in over half of the uses mishkan was preceded by the definite article which conveyed the sense that it was "the tabernacle," not just any tabernacle, but is the one where Jehovah dwelt. In the first use Jehovah declares His intent to dwell (Hebrew = shakan) among Israel (Ex 25:8, Lev 26:11), for which He instructs them to construct the tabernacle (Ex 25:9). Addressing Israel Jehovah says "Moreover, I will make My dwelling among you, and My soul will not reject you." (Lev 26:11) Mishkan is often found in parallel with or described by the Hebrew word for tent (Ex. 26:35; Jer. 30:18). In one of the saddest verses in the OT, we read "For our fathers have been unfaithful and have done evil in the sight of the LORD our God, and have forsaken Him and turned their faces away from the dwelling place (mishkan; Lxx = skene) of the LORD, and have turned [their] backs." (2Chr 29:6) The Lxx often translates mishkan (although not in Lev 26:11) with the noun skene which describes a temporary lodging place. The related verb skenoo is used to describe Jesus "tabernacling" with men - "And the Word (Jn 1:1-3) became flesh, and dwelt (skenoo) among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth." (Jn 1:14-note) Skene is used in the Septuagint (Lxx) to translate the Hebrew noun mishkan which was the dwelling place of God. The verb from which mishkan is derived is shakan which gives rise to the term Shekinah (wikipedia), not found in the Bible but introduced in the Talmudic literature to describe the cloud of glory over the Holy of holies in the Tabernacle (and later the Temple), which was the visual manifestation of the presence of Jehovah (See on site discussion of the Shekinah glory cloud) When? Initially this promise refers to the Shekinah Glory dwelling over the Tabernacle in the wilderness, and then later it refers to the dwelling of God's glory in Solomon's Temple. Ultimately this promise will be fulfilled in the Messianic kingdom (Millennium) and finally in the New Earth. God promises to dwell in their midst in the Millennium “Many nations will join themselves to the LORD in that day and will become My people. Then I will dwell in your midst, and you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you." (Zech 2:11) “[The city shall be] 18,000 [cubits] round about; and the name of the city from [that] day [shall be,] ‘The LORD is there.’” (Jehovah Shammah - The LORD is There) (Ezek 48:35) God promises to dwell among His people forever and ever. Amen And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, (Rev 21:3) There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him; (Rev 22:3) Why do you look with envy, O mountains with [many] peaks, At the mountain which God has desired for His abode? Surely the LORD will dwell [there] forever. (Ps 68:16) “This is My resting place forever; Here I will dwell, for I have desired it. (Ps 132:14) AND MY SOUL WILL NOT REJECT YOU: But Israel disobeyed God with the result that God could not keep this promise! Why because they abhorred (rejected) God's ordinances (cp warning Lev 26:15) The prophecy of Ezekiel describes the "dwelling" or the Shekinah departing from Solomon's Temple prior to it's destruction by Babylon (See schematic of progressive departure of the Glory). It is notable that the GLORY OF GOD did return to the Temple for a brief span when the Messiah was brought into the Temple to be circumcised according to the tradition of the Law (Lu 2:25ff, esp Lu 2:32) and thereafter whenever Jesus entered the Temple. As the apostle John testified "The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth." (Jn 1:14-note) Reject (01602)(gaal) means to abhor, to loathe or to reject. Ga'al describes an intense aversion which is expressed often in punitive or adverse action. To detest; abhor, loathe, vilely cast away. Note that 5 of the 10 uses are in Leviticus 26 in context of cursings and blessings, the first and the last being affirmations by Jehovah that He will not reject them (Lev 26:11, 44), of the Jews abhorring His ordinances (Lev 26:15, 43), of God abhorring them for their practice of idolatry (Lev 26:30). In Lev 26:11 the Lxx uses bdelusso (bdéo = stink or reek) is a verb which means literally to emit a foul odor or to render foul and figuratively means to strongly detest something on the basis that it is abominable (as used in Rev 21:8) (abominable = quite disagreeable, worthy of disgust, whatever is odious to the mind or offensive to the senses). In Greek usage bdelusso means to feel a nausea or loathing for food and so came to be used of disgust in general. And so the verb bdelusso pictures one turning away from a stench as in disgust. Most of the uses of ga'al are translated in Lxx with the verb prosochthizo which means to be very upset over something someone has done (of God's anger with Israel in the wilderness - Heb 3:10-note, Heb 3:17-note). The Septuagint (Lxx) translates gaal here with the verb bdelusso (from bdéo = stink or reek) which means to detest ("abhor idols" Ro 2:22) or to be abominable (Rev 21:8). This is a strong verb which means to detest something because it is utterly offensive or loathsome. Gilbrant - In this chapter, it is used to speak of God not rejecting his people if they follow his commandments (Lev 26:11). Nevertheless, if his people reject or abhor his commandments, and in doing so, break his covenant (Lev 26:15) then He will abhor them (Lev 26:30). Yet if they repent for abhorring his statutes, Lev 26:43, then he will not "abhor them as to destroy them" (Lev 26:44, NASB). Throughout this passage, the root gāʿal is used parallel to māas, "to reject or refuse". The meaning of gāal with respect to God's covenant is closely connected to a rejection of God's law by His people. To abhor the covenant is to abhor Yahweh. Faithfulness to the covenant (Ed: In context - the Mosaic Covenant of Law) requires faithfulness on the part of Yahweh. Conversely, the rejection of Yahweh incurs the rejection by Yahweh of the people, with no legal (covenant) constraint in His expression of rejection. Jeremiah 14:19 is quite similar to the usage in Leviticus 26. Here the prophet makes reference to the breaking of the covenant of God. As in Leviticus 26, gāʿal is once again used closely with māʾas, meaning "to reject" or "refuse." Undoubtedly, this language is meant to bring to the reader's memory the message of covenant blessing and cursing in Leviticus 26. Ezekiel uses gāal to mean "loath." In Ezek. 16:45, Ezekiel explains the proverb of v. 44 "As is the mother, so is her daughter." The meaning here expresses the idea of the mother "loathing" or "abhorring" her husband and children, and the sisters who likewise "loathed" and "abhorred" their husbands and children. In the Niphil form, word means "defiled" (2 Sa 1:21). The passage speaks of how the mountains of Gilboa should be cursed because here Saul's shield was not anointed with oil; rather it was defiled. The meaning in Job 21:10 is "to fail." "His ox mates without fail" (Job 21:10, NASB). Here gāʿal is in Hiphil (causative) imperfect form. In this passage, Job states that the wicked prosper, and even their livestock do not fail to procreate and thus multiply. (Complete Biblical Library Hebrew-English Dictionary) Gaal - 10x in 9v - Usage: abhor(2), abhorred(1), abhors(1), defiled(1), fail(1), loathed(3), reject(1). Leviticus 26:11 'Moreover, I will make My dwelling among you, and My soul will not reject you. Leviticus 26:15 if, instead, you reject My statutes, and if your soul abhors My ordinances so as not to carry out all My commandments, and so break My covenant, Leviticus 26:30 'I then will destroy your high places, and cut down your incense altars, and heap your remains on the remains of your idols, for My soul shall abhor you. Leviticus 26:43 'For the land will be abandoned by them, and will make up for its Sabbaths while it is made desolate without them. They, meanwhile, will be making amends for their iniquity, because they rejected My ordinances and their soul abhorred My statutes. Leviticus 26:44 'Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, nor will I so abhor them as to destroy them, breaking My covenant with them; for I am the LORD their God. 2 Samuel 1:21 "O mountains of Gilboa, Let not dew or rain be on you, nor fields of offerings; For there the shield of the mighty was defiled, The shield of Saul, not anointed with oil. Job 21:10 "His ox mates without fail; His cow calves and does not abort. Jeremiah 14:19 Have You completely rejected Judah? Or have You loathed Zion? Why have You stricken us so that we are beyond healing? We waited for peace, but nothing good came; And for a time of healing, but behold, terror! Ezekiel 16:45 "You are the daughter of your mother, who loathed her husband and children. You are also the sister of your sisters, who loathed their husbands and children. Your mother was a Hittite and your father an Amorite. Leviticus 26:12 'I will also walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people. I will (KJV): Ge 3:8 5:22,24 6:9 De 23:14 2Co 6:16 Rev 2:1 will be (KJV): Ge 17:7 Ex 3:6 6:7 19:5,6 Ps 50:7 68:18-20 Isa 12:2 41:10 Jer 7:23 11:4 30:22 31:33 32:38 Eze 11:20 36:38 Joe 2:27 Zec 13:9 Mt 22:32 Heb 11:16 Rev 21:7 Leviticus 26 Commentaries - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries I WILL ALSO WALK AMONG YOU AND BE YOUR GOD: (Ge 3:8 5:22,24 6:9) These are Covenant terms later made famous by Hos 1:9-10; 2:23. It refers to life, fellowship, and behavior. Enoch, Noah, et al “walked with God.” [Ge 5:22, 24, 6:9] Compare this to Jesus' promise in (Jn 14:21).
Levítico 26
MacArthur - The heavens would be as bright as bronze, but no rain would fall from them to water the ground. The earth would be as hard as iron, so any rain that would fall would run off and not penetrate (cf. Am 4:7). Nelson's NKJV Study Bible. - Rainfall was essential to the agriculture of ancient Israel. The summer heat baked the land. If the early rains of winter did not fall and soften the soil, the primitive plows of ancient agriculture could not break it up for planting. Of course, without rainfall, planting was futile anyway; the seeds would not grow. George Bush - Leviticus Notes Critical and Practical - Leviticus 26 I will make your heaven as iron and your earth at brass. That is, that part of the heavens which is over your country shall afford no mere rain than if it were a canopy of iron, and consequently your earth or land shall be as barren of fruit as though the soil were brass. Leviticus 26:20 'Your strength will be spent uselessly, for your land will not yield its produce and the trees of the land will not yield their fruit. your strength (KJV): Ps 127:1 Isa 49:4 Hab 2:13 Ga 4:11 for your land (KJV): Lev 26:4 De 11:17 28:18,38-40,42 Job 31:40 Ps 107:34 Hag 1:9-11 Hag 2:16 1Co 3:6 Leviticus 26 Commentaries - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Your strength will be spent uselessly, for your land will not yield its produce and the trees of the land will not yield their fruit. - The promised land would no longer be fertile because of drought (Lev 26:19) and thus their sowing and cultivating would be futile. This would bring starvation and poverty for an agrarian society. We see this described in more detail in the book of Haggai You look for much, but behold, it comes to little; when you bring it home, I (GOD) blow it away. Why?” declares the LORD of hosts, “Because of My house which lies desolate, while each of you runs to his own house. “Therefore, because of you the sky has withheld its dew and the earth has withheld its produce (WHY?). “I called for a drought on the land, on the mountains, on the grain, on the new wine, on the oil, on what the ground produces, on men, on cattle, and on all the labor of your hands.” (Hag 1:9-11) The writer of Psalm 127:1, although describing different activities, clearly emphasizes the principle of man's dependence on divine provision: Unless the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the LORD guards the city, The watchman keeps awake in vain. Notice that the "success" of both activities is dependent on what men do (labor...keep awake), but upon what Yahweh does (builds...guards)! If He does not bless the land with fertility and rain and paucity of insects (etc), all the labor of the farmers is in vain. Beloved, this principle is still applicable, for if labors are carried out in dependence on our strength alone, to the exclusion of God's provision (like not abiding in the Vine in Jn 15:5), then our labors (in light of eternity) amount to absolutely nothing! Paul applied the "Psalm 127:1 Principle" when he wrote " I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth." (1Cor 3:6). Leviticus 26:21 'If then, you act with hostility against Me and are unwilling to obey Me, I will increase the plague on you seven times according to your sins. NET - 'If you walk in hostility against me and are not willing to obey me, I will increase your affliction seven times according to your sins. (Lev 26:21 NET) ESV "Then if you walk contrary to me and will not listen to me, I will continue striking you, sevenfold for your sins. Leviticus 26 Commentaries - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries SECOND INSTALLMENT OF SEVEN TIMES MORE PUNISHMENT If then, you act with hostility against Me: (NET = "if you walk in hostility") Note that "act" is halak which is the Hebrew verb meaning to walk. The picture is of Israel walking contrary to Yahweh as in the ESV translation = "if you walk contrary to me". This picture of walking contrary to the LORD is repeated in Lev 26:23, 27, 40 The picture of the LORD walking contrary to His people is repeated in Lev 26:24, 28, 41! The Septuagint (Lxx) translates hostility (qeri - see below) with plagios which sideways and figuratively meant crooked or treacherous. So if instead of walking uprightly, Israel chose the "crooked" path, they would incur a seven fold increase in divine discipline (Cp the broad way leading to destruction cp Mt 7:13-14, Ps 1:6). If I’m walking one direction and God is walking another, I’m moving away from His presence; and God isn’t about to change His direction! If I continue to walk contrary to Him, I’m going to have serious problems, for as Amos asks “can two walk together, except they be agreed?” (Am 3:3) Hostility (07147)(qeri) is masculine noun indicating hostility, contrariness. It describes “a hostile meeting with the intention of fighting.” The Hebrew word for hostility describes a state of deep-seated ill will (in this verse toward the kind, faithful and benevolent God!) Qeri is used seven times all in Leviticus 26! In Lev. 26:21, 23, 24, 27, 40, 41 it is used with the Hebrew verb for act (in the NAS) is halak which means to walk and gives us the picture of to walk with hostility or to walk contrary to. In Lev 26:28 qeri is used with the noun ḥamāh which means wrath, heat or rage (a feeling of intense rage, hot-tempered, even translated once as venom - this helps envision the image God's anger depicted in Lev 26:28!) Gilbrant - The Hebrew noun qerî refers to a hostile encounter. It occurs seven times in the OT, all in Lev. 26. This word is derived from the verbal root qārāh , "to meet," "to encounter." Qerî always denotes a hostile meeting between the covenant participants, Yahweh and Israel. If Israel disobeyed the commandments set forth by Yahweh, thus instigating a hostile encounter (Lev. 26:21, 23, 27), Yahweh would return the hostility many times over (Lev. 26:24, 28). However, if Israel repented of their hostile and rebellious ways (Lev. 26:40), then Yahweh would relent in remembrance of his covenant promises (Lev. 26:41; cf. Lev. 26:42-46). (Complete Biblical Library Hebrew-English Dictionary) And are unwilling to obey Me I will increase the plague on you - You will reap more than you sow! In Hos 8:7 it says "they sow the wind and they reap the whirlwind." Beloved, God still hates sin, so this principle remains in force--be careful what seeds you are sowing, godly or ungodly. You may be forced to gather a "whirlwind" crop! Unwilling - In the Septuagint (Lxx) we have the negative particle (me) followed by the verb boulomai which refers to a settled desire, one born of or springing from reason and not from emotion. It means that Israel deliberately willed to not obey God! Furthermore, boulomai is in the present tense signifying this Israel continually purposed to disobey! Woe! Seven times according to your sins - See notes on Lev 26:18. Note the phrase according to means consistent with; in conformity with. God is fair and just and He will give them in proportion to what they deserve.
Levítico 26
MacArthur: The manner and timing of the repayment of man’s wickedness is God’s prerogative. This principle is reaffirmed in the NT in Ro 12:19; Heb 10:30. (Study Bible) Deuteronomy 32:41 If I sharpen My flashing sword, And My hand takes hold on justice, I will render vengeance on My adversaries, And I will repay those who hate Me. Deuteronomy 32:43 "Rejoice, O nations, with His people; For He will avenge the blood of His servants, And will render vengeance on His adversaries, And will atone for His land and His people." MacArthur: As a result of the execution of God’s vengeance, all nations will be called upon to praise with Israel the Lord who will have provided redemptively for them in Christ and also provided a new beginning in the Land. This atonement for the Land is the satisfaction of God’s wrath by the sacrifice of His enemies in judgment. The atonement for the people is by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross (cf. Ps 79:9). Paul quotes this passage in Ro 15:10, as does the writer of Hebrews 1:6. (Study Bible) Psalm 58:10 The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; He will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. Proverbs 6:34 For jealousy enrages a man, And he will not spare in the day of vengeance. Isaiah 34:8 For the LORD has a day of vengeance, A year of recompense for the cause of Zion. Isaiah 35:4 Say to those with anxious heart, "Take courage, fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance; The recompense of God will come, But He will save you." Comment: The purpose of God's vengeance here (see above Isa 34:8) is to furnish the means to redeem His long-oppressed people of Israel. Isaiah 47:3 "Your (Babylon's) nakedness will be uncovered, Your shame also will be exposed; I will take vengeance and will not spare a man." Isaiah 59:17 He put on righteousness like a breastplate, And a helmet of salvation on His head; And He put on garments of vengeance for clothing And wrapped Himself with zeal as a mantle. MacArthur - Figuratively speaking, the Lord armed Himself for the deliverance of His people and for taking vengeance on enemies who would seek His destruction. Paul drew on this terminology in describing a believer’s spiritual preparation for warding off the attacks of Satan (Eph 6:14, 17; 1Th 5:8). Isaiah 61:2-commentary To proclaim the favorable year of the LORD And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, Isaiah 63:4-commentary "For the day of vengeance was in My heart, And My year of redemption has come. Messiah is explaining why He had trodden "the wine trough" and "the peoples." It is not because He is some "heavenly tyrant gone berserk!" (Oswalt). And so for some His Second Coming will accomplish divine vengeance. For others it will accomplish divine deliverance (redemption), with primary application to the beleaguered nation of Israel in the last days as the Antichrist unleashes his satanic inspired fury on God's chosen people (cf Rev 12:13-17 where the "woman" is not a literal woman but in context is clearly the nation of Israel - see explanation of "woman" in Revelation 12). Day of vengeance - This phrase is found 5 times in the OT - Pr 6:34, Isa 34:8, 61:2, 63:4 and Jer 46:10. This day reflects to a large degree the consummation of the Day of the Lord, described in so many OT passages, such as Zephaniah... “Therefore, wait for Me,” declares the LORD, “For the day when I rise up to the prey. Indeed, My decision is to gather nations (=goyim = Gentiles), to assemble kingdoms, to pour out on them My indignation ( intense anger), all My burning anger (nose, nostril, and anger); For all the earth will be devoured By the fire of My zeal. (Zeph 3:8) The day of vengeance was promised earlier in Isaiah's prophecy describing Isaiah 34 describing judgment described the "LORD'S indignation...against all the nations...a day of vengeance" (Isa 34:2, 8 - see discussion of Isa 34:1-10 under Isa 63:6) following in Isaiah 35 by a description of God's salvation... "Say to those with anxious heart, "Take courage, fear not. Behold, your God (He is speaking to Judah/Israel) will come with vengeance. The recompense of God will come, but (this is an important contrast) He will save you (cf "mighty to save" Isa 63:1. The "you" refers to the believing remnant in Isaiah's day but more fully to those Jews in the last days [Great Tribulation = the ultimate day of vengeance] who place their faith in Messiah = believing remnant of Israel). 5 Then (When? When the Redeemer returns and saves) the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped (cp Jesus' first "sermon" in Lk 4:17-21 based on the text of Isa 61:1-2a). 6 Then (When is then? When Messiah returns as described here in Isaiah 63:1-6) the lame will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb will shout for joy (cf the concept of the Year of Jubilee discussed below). For waters will break forth in the wilderness and streams in the Arabah (The topography will change when Messiah returns to defeat His enemies and establish His Millennial Kingdom-see description). 7 And the scorched land will become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; In the haunt of jackals, its resting place, Grass becomes reeds and rushes. 8 And a highway will be there, a roadway, And it will be called the Highway of Holiness (leading the redeemed to the Holy City and Messiah's Holy Temple, cp Mal 3:1-4-note). The unclean will not travel on it, but it will be for him who walks that way, And fools will not wander on it. (Isa 35:4-8) Comment: Remember the context. Isaiah is speaking to Judah and Jerusalem. Those who walk on the Highway of Holiness will be "the redeemed" (Isa 35:9), "the ransomed of the LORD" (Isa 35:10), in short, the believing Jewish remnant. J