_And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man_ THE CLIMAX OF ZION’S RUIN This verse should be part of the preceding chapter, the very climax, indeed, of the ruin which Zion has brought upon herself. (Read Isaiah 3:25_._) In this verse the course of nature is inverted. This is the ruin w... [ Continue Reading ]
_In that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious_ THE FIRST PERSONAL REFERENCE IN ISAIAH TO THE MESSIAH If this is a reference to Christ, critics are agreed that it is the first personal reference to the Messiah which Isaiah has yet given. (_J. Parker, D. D._) A PLEASING CONTR... [ Continue Reading ]
_He that is left in Zion_ THE HOLY REMNANT “Holy” means what is separated from the world and superior to it; the congregation of the saints, or holy ones, who now inhabit Jerusalem, are what remain after a smelting; their holiness is the consequence of a washing. (_F. Delitzsch._) GOD HAS NEVER... [ Continue Reading ]
_A cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night_ THE PILLAR CLOUD OF ISRAEL--CHRIST, THE LEADER OF HIS CHURCH (with Exodus 13:21):--It was good for the Israelites that they were so long in the wilderness. There the most impressive intimations of a present Deity followed their... [ Continue Reading ]
_And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow_ A SUBSTANTIAL SHADOW AMID THE INSUBSTANTIALS The tabernacles of the Old Testament typify the abiding glory of that true tabernacle which the Lord pitched and not marl They were taken down. This abideth evermore. The dissolving process of death only de... [ Continue Reading ]