聖書注解書

Verses 1-8. - AN EXHORTATION TO OBSERVE THE LAW, ESPECIALLY THE LAW OF THE SABBATH, COMBINED WITH PROMISES. There was much of the Law which it was impossible to observe during the Captivity. Sacrifice had ceased, the temple was destroyed, almost all the ceremonial law must have been suspended; even the command to do no work on the sabbath day cannot have been kept by a nation of slaves, whose masters would certainly not have permitted them to be idle one day in seven. Still, the spirit of the ordinance might be kept by devoting the day, so far as was possible, to religious observance, as to prayer and to meditation upon holy things. This is now enjoined on the captive Jews, with the promise of a blessing - a blessing in which even the most despised part of the nation, the proselytes and the eunuchs, might participate. Verse 1. - Keep ye judgment, and do justice; rather, keep ye Law, and observe righteousness. The exhortation is general, and has no special bearing on trials or law-courts. It is a call on the Jews, in their captivity, to keep, so far as was possible, the whole Law given on Sinai. My salvation is near to come. The nearer the time of deliverance approaches, the more faithful and exact ought Israel to be in life and conduct. God's "salvation" and his "righteousness" go hand-in-hand. It is as his righteous people, "a holy seed" (Isaiah 6:10), that he is about to vindicate and rescue them. If they are no holier than others, why should he do more for them than for those others?

Verse 2. - That doeth this... that layeth hold on it; i.e. that doeth according to the exhortation in ver. 1. That keepeth the sabbath. The prominent place assigned to this duty by the evangelical prophet is remarkable. We may observe, however,

(1) that the spirit of obedience is better tested by a positive than by a moral ordinance; and

(2) that as, probably, there could be little outward keeping of the sabbath by the captives, it would have had to be kept inwardly by spiritual exercises, by silent prayer and praise, together with prolonged meditation upon holy things. In the absence of all the ordinary aids to devotion, the religious condition of the people must have depended very much on their keeping up the recollection of the sabbath, and hallowing it so far as was possible; e.g. doing no work for themselves, neither buying nor selling, making their devotions longer, and keeping God in their thoughts throughout the day.

Verse 3. - The son of the stranger; i.e. the foreigner, who has become a proselyte. During the depression of the Captivity these are not likely to have been many. Still, there were doubtless some; and these, who had embraced Judaism under such unfavourable circumstances, were entitled to special consideration. As Messianic hopes prevailed, and the time of restoration to Palestine drew near (ver. 1), they might naturally be afraid that they would not be looked upon as equals by the native Israelites, but would be made into a lower grade, if not even excluded. The Lord hath utterly separated me; rather, the Lord will utterly separate me. They do not suppose it done, but think it will be done. The eunuch. Isaiah had prophesied to Hezekiah that a certain number of his seed should serve as eunuchs in the royal palace of the King of Babylon (2 Kings 20:18). Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were such persons (Daniel 1:3-6), and there may have been others. By the letter of the Law (Deuteronomy 23:1), they were cut off from the congregation, but practically it would seem that during the Captivity they were on a par with other Israelites. These persons feared, with more reason than the foreign proselytes, that, on the return of Israel to their own land, a stricter practice would be established than had prevailed during the Captivity, and the letter of the Law would be enforced against them. I am a dry tree. Therefore useless, and entitled to no consideration at all.

Verse 4. - The eunuchs that... take hold of my covenant. The law of Deuteronomy 23:1 shall be abrogated under the new condition of things, for such as "take hold of God's covenant."

Verse 5. - In mine house; i.e. "in my Church" (comp. 1 Timothy 3:15). Within my walls. Within the walls of my "holy city" (see above, Isaiah 54:11, 12; 50:14; 42:12). A place and a name; or, a memorial and a name; i.e. honourable mention, like that promised to the woman who anointed Christ for his burial (Matthew 26:13). Such mention is found in Matthew 19:12; Acts 8:27-39.

Verse 6. - Also the sons of the stranger (comp. ver. 3). The proselytes shall not be treated as they fear. On the contrary, God will treat them in exactly the same way as his original people - will conduct them to Palestine, settle them in his "holy mountain," admit them to the temple services, accept their burnt offerings and their sacrifices. All this will be a foretaste of their position in the Christian Church, where there will be neither Jew nor Gentile, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision, but a community where all are brethren and all have equal privileges.

Verse 7. - My house of prayer. In Solomon's address to God at the dedication of the temple, its character, as a house of prayer, is abundantly laid down (1 Kings 8:29-53). And no doubt it was used for the purpose of prayer, as well as for the purpose of sacrifice, from its first erection to its final destruction. But the purpose of sacrifice so far predominated, in fact, over the other, that the expression, "my house of prayer," comes upon us in this place to some extent as a surprise. The prophet seems to anticipate the time when the temple should be emphatically a προσευχή the legal sacrifices having received their fulfilment (Isaiah 53:10), and being thenceforth superfluous and out of place. For all people; rather, for all the peoples. All the ends of the earth were to see the salvation of God (Psalm 98:3); "All nations were to fall down before him; all people to do him service" (Psalm 72:11).

Verse 8. - The Lord God; rather, the Lord Jehovah - Adonai Jehovah. An unusual phrase. Which gathereth together the outcasts of Israel; i.e. the Lord who has pledged himself to bring back Israel from captivity, and to gather together Israel's outcasts from all regions (Isaiah 11:11; Isaiah 27:12, 13; Isaiah 43:5, 6, etc.). This same Lord now promises something further: "He will gather others also to Israel, besides his own gathered ones." Introduced with such emphasis and formality, this was probably, when delivered, a new revelation. In the present arrangement of the prophecies, however, it announces no novelty. The addition of Gentile members to the Israelite community has been declared frequently (see Isaiah 44:5; Isaiah 55:5, etc.). Section V. A WARNING TO THE WICKED (ISAIH 56:9-57.).