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A Testimony Concerning the House of Jacob
v. 1. Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, the form of address purposely being cold and distant, which are called by the name of Israel, presuming upon this right, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah, being physical descendants of the patriarchs, indeed, but lacking in spirituality and faith, which swear by the name of the Lord, the gracious God of the covenant, and make mention of the God of Israel, who intended to make Israel His true, peculiar people, His children indeed, their attitude, however, being such as to make the prophet add, but not in truth nor in righteousness, that is, not in the faithfulness demanded by the covenant, but with a false and lying heart. This hypocrisy of the people is further characterized:
v. 2. For they call themselves of the Holy City, boasting of their outward connection with Jerusalem, and stay themselves upon the God of Israel; The Lord of hosts is His name. They defiantly claimed the assistance of the almighty God for themselves, merely on account of their outward relation to the Lord's people, forgetting that God is also the Holy One and a devouring fire upon all hypocrites. Jehovah Himself now takes up the message:
v. 3. I have declared the former things from the beginning, making known the miracles of His deliverance before they came to pass; and they went forth out of My mouth, and I showed them, brought them about; I did them suddenly, and they came to pass, so unexpectedly, so entirely at variance with the results of human planning, that men were bound to recognize the hand of God.
v. 4. Because I knew that thou art obstinate, hard of head and of heart, and thy neck is an iron sinew, inflexible, and thy brow brass, insisting upon going forward on its own sinful way, refusing to be guided by the Lord's will,
v. 5. I have even from the beginning declared it to thee; before it came to pass I showed it thee, the argument being that He who can both foretell the future and then bring His prophecy to pass must be divine; lest thou shouldest say, Mine idol hath done them, and my graven image and my molten image hath commanded them, ascribing to these false gods an interference with the affairs of the world which was excluded by the Lord's proof of prophecy and fulfillment.
v. 6. Thou hast heard, Israel having had plenty of opportunity to investigate. See all this, convincing themselves by personal observation; and will not ye declare it? Are men, in view of the fact that prophecy and fulfillment harmonize so perfectly, not hound to acknowledge the true God? The answer implied is that they certainly ought to agree to this if they would but speak the truth. Not only, however, has Israel sinned in this respect, but they are hardening their hearts also against further proclamations of truth. I have showed thee new things from this time, imparting this information at this time, namely, the revelation concerning the deliverance by Cyrus, even hidden things, and thou didst not know them, for the uncovering of the future is a matter pertaining to the omniscient God alone.
v. 7. They are created now, brought into being, and not from the beginning; even before the day when thou heardest them not, having no information concerning them by themselves, lest thou shouldest say, Behold, I knew them, thus discounting the statements now made as not out of the ordinary.
v. 8. Yea, thou heardest not; yea, thou knewest not; yea, from that time that thine ear was not opened, their ears being as little opened now as ever, their hardness of heart continuing as bad as ever; for I knew that thou wouldest deal very treacherously, full of perfidy and iniquity, and wast called a transgressor from the womb, the allusion being to the strategy of Jacob, of which even Esau complained, Genesis 27. The descendants of Jacob had inherited the bad qualities of their ancestor without assuming those attributes which made Jacob the servant of God.
v. 9. For My name's sake will I defer Mine anger, not letting the judgment of wrath descend upon the apostate people, and for My praise, on account of His jealousy for His own honor, will I refrain for thee, that I cut thee not off. Because of His promise and covenant Jehovah did not exterminate the disobedient people at this time, but gave them another opportunity for repentance.
v. 10. Behold, I have refined thee, with the heat of tribulation, but not with silver, they had not yet assayed well; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction, proving them out, trying them, to find their worth.
v. 11. For Mine own sake, even for Mine own sake, will I do it, lest His name be desecrated; for how should My name be polluted? The heathen would ascribe the extermination of Israel to the inability of their God to protect them. And I will not give My glory unto another, this honor depending upon His deliverance of His people in accordance with His selection and the promises given to the patriarchs.