Isaiah 48

CHAPTER 48Isa 48:1-22. The Things That Befall Babylon Jehovah Predicted Long before, lest Israel Should Attribute Them, in Its "Obstinate" Perversity, to Strange Gods (Isa 48:1-5).1. the waters of Judah—spring from the fountain of Judah (Nu 24:7; De 33:28; Ps 68:26; Margin). Judah has the "fountain" attributed to it, because it survived the ten tribes, and from it Messiah was to spring.swear by … Lord—(Isa 19:18; 45:23; 65:16).mention—in prayers and praises.not in truth—(Jer 5:2; Joh 4:24).

"\nHear ye this, O house of Jacob,.... Who were of the house and family of Jacob, his descendants and posterity; and who were of the house of the God of Jacob, had a name and a place there, at least in profession:\n\nwhich are called by the name of Israel; a name given to Jacob, because of his prevalence with God in prayer; but these had only the name, not the thing, however not as yet; they were neither praying Jacobs, nor prevailing Israels; they were not Israelites indeed:\n\nand are come forth out of the waters of Judah; that is, were of the seed of Judah, as the Targum, Aben Ezra, and Kimchi interpret it; these were waters out of his buckets, as Jarchi observes from Nu 24:7, so we read of the fountain of Jacob, De 33:28. These were streams from thence; they were of the tribe of Judah, to whom the kingdom belonged; from whence was the chief ruler, the Shiloh, the King Messiah; they were of these waters, though not born again of water and of the Spirit:\n\nwhich swear by the name of the Lord God; own him for their God, acknowledge him their Lord and King, and solemnly promise to serve him, and yield obedience to him:\n\nand make mention of the God of Israel; or "remember" him {z} in their religious exercises; invoke his name, sing his praises, ask of him the ordinances of righteousness, honour him with their lips, speak honourably of him, and profess to remember his works of old at their solemn feasts:\n\nbut not in truth, nor in righteousness; not according to the will of God, nor truth of things; nor in the integrity of their hearts, but in an hypocritical way, and not in sincerity and uprightness; in word and tongue only, not in deed and in truth; worshippers of God they were externally, but not in spirit and truth.\n\n{z} \u05d9\u05d6\u05db\u05d9\u05e8\u05d5 "recordantur", Munster, Vatablus.\n\n\n\n "

48:1-8 The Jews valued themselves on descent from Jacob, and used the name of Jehovah as their God. They prided themselves respecting Jerusalem and the temple, yet there was no holiness in their lives. If we are not sincere in religion, we do but take the name of the Lord in vain. By prophecy they were shown how God would deal with them, long before it came to pass. God has said and done enough to prevent men's boasting of themselves, which makes the sin and ruin of the proud worse; sooner or later every mouth shall be stopped, and all become silent before Him. We are all born children of disobedience. Where original sin is, actual sin will follow. Does not the conscience of every man witness to the truth of Scripture? May the Lord prove us, and render us doers of the word.

"\nFor they call themselves of the holy city,.... The city Jerusalem, so called because the temple, the place of divine worship, was in it, the residence of the Holy One of Israel: they valued themselves, not only upon their being of the family of Jacob, and of the tribe of Judah, but that they were inhabitants of Jerusalem, the holy city; as many now call themselves fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God, when they are strangers both to God and his people in the experimental knowledge of things:\n\nand stay themselves upon the God of Israel; professed to trust in the Lord, and lean upon him, and rely upon his power and providence, his mercy and goodness, and expect all needful things from him, renouncing all confidence in the creature; and yet at the same time acted an hypocritical part, their faith was feigned: see Mic 3:11.\n\nThe Lord of hosts is his name; whom they professed to be their God and Father, their Lord and Husband, their Saviour and Redeemer; who has all power in heaven and in earth, and does according to his will in both worlds, having the hosts of angels and armies of men at his command, and therefore so called.\n\n\n\n "

"\nI have declared the former things from the beginning,.... From the time of their first ancestors, from the time of Abraham their father, to whom was declared what should befall his posterity; that they should sojourn in Egypt, be afflicted there, and come out from thence with great substance; that they be brought into the land of Canaan, and the inhabitants of it being driven out before them,\n Ge 15:13.\n\nAnd they went forth out of my mouth, and I showed them; they were told to Abraham by word of mouth; they were shown to him in prophecy:\n\nI did them suddenly, and they came to pass; for very quickly these things began to take place, even in Abraham's time; for his seed being a stranger in a land not theirs, and afflicted near four hundred years, must be reckoned from the birth of Isaac; and all which exactly came to pass as was foretold; not one thing which the Lord had spoken of failed; all was punctually fulfilled, Jos 21:45.\n\n\n "

4. obstinate—Hebrew, "hard" (De 9:27; Eze 3:7, Margin).iron sinew—inflexible (Ac 7:51).brow brass—shameless as a harlot (see Jer 6:28; 3:3; Eze 3:7, Margin).

"\nBecause I knew that thou art obstinate,.... Or "hard" {a}, hard hearted, an obdurate and rebellious people, contradicting and gainsaying:\n\nand thy neck is as an iron sinew; stiffnecked, inflexible, not compliant with the will of God, and his commands; unwilling to admit his yoke, and bear it:\n\nand thy brow brass; impudent, not ashamed of sin, nor blushing at it, refusing to receive correction for it, having a whore's forehead.