Isaiah 1:2

Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. HEAR, O HEAVENS. The very words of Moses, Deuteronomy 32:1. This implies that the law was the charter and basis of prophecy (Isaiah 8:20). THE LORD HATH SPOKEN - Yahweh: in Hebrew, the self-existing and promise-fulfilling unchangeable One. The Jews never pronounced this holy name, but substituted 'Adonaay (H136). The English version LORD (in capitals) marks the Hebrew Yahweh (H3068): though Lord is rather equivalent to 'Adonaay than Yahweh....

2._Hear, O heavens _Isaiah has here imitated Moses, as all the prophets are accustomed to do; and there cannot be a doubt that he alludes to that illustrious Song of Moses, in which, at the very commencement, he calls _heaven and earth _to witness against the people: Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. (Deuteronomy 32:1.) This is unquestionably a very severe protestation; for it conveys this meaning, that both turn to the elements which are dumb and devoid of feeling, because men have now no ears, or are bereft of all their senses. The Prophet, therefore, speaks of it as an extraordinary and monstrous thing, which ought to strike even the senseless elements with amazement. For what could be more shocking than that the Israelites should revolt from God, who had bestowed on them so many benefits? Those who think that by...

1-9 Isaiah signifies, "The salvation of the Lord;" a very suitable name for this prophet, who prophesies so much of Jesus the Saviour, and his salvation. God's professing people did not know or consider that they owed their lives and comforts to God's fatherly care and kindness. How many are very careless in the affairs of their souls! Not considering what we do know in religion, does us as much harm, as ignorance of what we should know. The wickedness was universal. Here is a comparison taken from a sick and diseased body. The distemper threatens to be mortal. From the sole of the foot even to the head; from the meanest peasant to the greatest peer, there is no soundness, no good principle, no religion, for that is the health of the soul. Nothing but guilt and corruption; the sad effects of Adam's fall. This passage declares the total depravity of human nature. While sin remains unrepe...

Verse Isaiah 1:2. _HEAR, O HEAVENS_ - "Hear, O ye heavens"] God is introduced as entering into a public action, or pleading, before the whole world, against his disobedient people. The prophet, as herald or officer to proclaim the summons to the court, calls upon all created beings, celestial and terrestrial, to attend and bear witness to the truth of his plea and the justice of his cause. The same scene is more fully displayed in the noble exordium of Psalms 50:1, where God summons all mankind, from east to west, to be present to hear his appeal; and the solemnity is held on Sion, where he is attended with the same terrible pomp that accompanied him on Mount Sinai: - "A consuming fire goes before him And round him rages a viole

HEAR, O HEAVENS - This is properly the beginning of the prophecy. It is a sublime commencement; and is of a highly poetic character. The heavens and the earth are summoned to bear witness to the apostasy, ingratitude, and deep depravity of the chosen people of God. The address is expressive of deep feeling - the bursting forth of a heart filled with amazement at a wonderful and unusual event. The same sublime beginning is found in the song of Moses, Deuteronomy 32:1 : Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; And hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. Compare Psalms 4:3. Thus also the prophets often invoke the hills and mounta

PART I.—EARLIER PROPHECIES OF ISAIAH (CH. 1-35.) SECTION I.—THE GREAT ARRAIGNMENT (Isaiah 1:1.). EXPOSITION ISAIAH 1:1 TITLE OF THE WORK. It is questioned whether the title can be regarded as Isaiah's, or as properly belonging to the work, and it is suggested that it is rather a heading invented by a collector who brought together into a volume such prophecies of Isaiah as were known to him, the collection being a much smaller one than that which was made ultimately. In favor of this view it is urged (1) that

HEAR, O HEAVENS, AND GIVE EAR, O EARTH,.... To what the Lord was about to say of his controversy with his people, which was to be managed openly and publicly before them as spectators and witnesses; this designs either strictly and properly the heavens and the earth, or figuratively the inhabitants of them, angels and men. The address is solemn, and denotes something of moment and importance to be done and attended to: see Deuteronomy 32:1. The Targum is, "hear, O ye heavens, that were moved when I gave my law to my people; and hearken, O earth, that trembleth before my word.'' FOR THE LORD HATH SPOKEN: not only by Moses, and the prophets that were before Isaiah, but he had spoken to him the words he was now about to deliver; for they were not his own words, but the Lord's: he spoke by the inspiration of God, and as moved by the Holy Ghost; and therefor

Isaiah 1:1. _The vision of Isaiah the son of Amos, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me._ The good and gracious God, having been treated ungenerously, makes his appeal not to men who themselves are guilty, but to the very heavens and each, calling on the silent stones of the field, and the trees of the wood, and the stars of heaven, to judge between him and his rebellious children. «I have nourished and brought up children « taken a nurse's interest in them, shown a parent's love to them, «and they have rebelled against me.» Isaiah 1:3. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass hi

HEAR, O HEAVENS The chapter, down to verse 23, states the case of Jehovah against Judah. Chastening, according to Deuteronomy 28, 29, had been visited upon Israel in the land (vs. 5-8 (Isaiah 1:5), and now the time of expulsion from the land is near. But just here Jehovah renews the promise of the Palestinian Covenant of future restoration and exaltation (Isaiah 1:26); (Isaiah 1:27); (Isaiah 2:1)....

ANALYSIS AND ANNOTATIONS The reader will find that every chapter has been analyzed as to its contents. We have not made copious annotations, because the three lectures on the book of Isaiah as found at the close of the analysis cover the contents of this book in such a manner that detailed annotations for a study of the book can be omitted. We suggest that all who desire to study this great prophecy in a closer way read carefully the introduction, and after that the three lectures on “The Scope of Isaiah,” “The Messianic Predictions” and “Future Glories and Blessings.” These lectures should be carefully studied and every passage should be looked up. After this has been done, take up the book section by section and follow the analysis we give and consult the lectures whenever needed. I. THE EARLIER PROPHECIES (1-35) 1. Prophecies under the Reign of Uzziah, Jotham, and Ahaz (1-12) CHAP...