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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Isaiah 2:1 - 2:9
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The Gentiles Called to the Kingdom
v. 1. The word, the prophetic oration, that Isaiah, the son of Amoz, saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem, the revelation here recorded extending to the end of the fourth chapter.
v. 2. And it shall come to pass in the last days, in the Messianic age, which precedes the end of the world, that the mountain of the Lord's house, that is, Zion or Jerusalem, the kingdom of God, shall be established in the top of the mountains, towering high above every human and, especially, every idolatrous organization, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it, seeking the city of God in large streams. This is said of the Church in the time of the New Testament, when it is established in every part of the world, high above all false religions and churches, its beauty serving as a lodestone drawing men from all nations to seek the true God.
v. 3. And many people shall go and say, in encouraging one another to seek the truth of the Gospel, Come ye and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, to become members of the true Church, such zeal in coming and inviting others being a sign of real conversion; and He will teach us of His ways, literally, "out of His ways," so that the instruction will be most thorough, and we will walk in His paths, in the willing obedience of faith; for out of Zion, from the midst of God's holy congregation, shall go forth the Law, the word here designating the law of the New Covenant, the Gospel of God's mercy, and the Word of the Lord, of Jehovah, the God of grace, from Jerusalem. This explains the manner in which the Gentiles come to the city of God, to His holy Church, namely, by and through the preaching of the Gospel, which is brought to them and accepted by them.
v. 4. And He shall judge among the nations and shall rebuke many people, stating His decisions, performing the functions of King and Judge in governing the people under His spiritual rule; and they, under the influence of the Lord's Spirit, who lives in them, shall beat their swords into plowshares, the broad knives fastened to the shaft of the plow by Oriental farmers, and their spears into pruning-hooks, that is, vine-dressers' knives. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more, for in the Church of God as it really exists, under the government of the Prince of Peace, there is nothing but peace, unity, and love. It is a wonderful description of the Messianic kingdom and its beauties which is here given.
v. 5. O house of Jacob, the children of Israel, specifically the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem being here addressed, come ye and let us walk in the light of the Lord, an urgent appeal to heed the prophetic message, to know the Lord as He has revealed Himself in the Word, and to give proof of this knowledge in their entire conduct and life.
v. 6. Therefore Thou hast forsaken Thy people, the house of Jacob, rather, "For Thou hast rejected," since this fact, the deliberate transgressions of Israel, had caused God to let them walk in the foolishness of their minds, because they be replenished from the East, admitting the idolatrous influences of the Orient, and are soothsayers, like the Philistines, accepting this abomination from their neighbors to the southwest, and they please themselves in the children of strangers, going hand in hand with them, making covenants with them, in a most intimate friendship. Because Israel had so acted, therefore the Lord had rejected them, and for that reason the appeal of the prophet went forth that they should return to the light of the Lord. But the apostasy of the people is further described.
v. 7. Their land also is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of their treasures; their land is also full of horses, neither is there any end of their chariots, this heaping up of material wealth being contrary to the divine prohibition, Deu_17:14-17;
v. 8. their land also is full of idols, for idolatry had entered the land with the wealth gained through commerce with the surrounding heathen nations; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made, the words expressing the disgust and the contempt of the Lord for such practices;
v. 9. and the mean man, the lowly among the people, boweth down, as a result and punishment of the idolatrous practices in use among the children of Israel, and the great man, the nobles and leaders among the people, humbleth himself, is humbled by God. Therefore forgive them not, literally, "and not wilt Thou forgive them. " Worldliness, idolatry, rejection of God, challenges the holiness of the Lord, causes His righteousness to pronounce judgment, and therefore on the last Great Day, all admonitions having been fruitless, His punishment will strike the willful transgressors.