Isaiah 34:9

And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch. THE STREAMS THEREOF ... - images from the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah (; so ; Jeremiah 49:17)....

9._And its streams shall be turned into pitch. _What the Prophet now adds contains nothing new, but describes more fully this desolation. We have formerly explained the reason wily the prophets employ these lively pictures in representing the judgments of God. It is for the purpose of leading men to view them as actually present, and of compelling them to acknowledge those things which their eyes and minds do not discern, or which, as soon as they are beheld and known, are immediately forgotten. But it ought also to be observed that the Prophets spoke of things which were dark and secret, and which were generally thought to be incredible; for many persons imagined that the Prophets uttered them at random. It was, therefore, necessary to add many confirmations, such as those which he employs in this and in other passages; and thus he denotes a horrible change, which shall destroy the whol...

9-17 Those who aim to ruin the church, can never do that, but will ruin themselves. What dismal changes sin can make! It turns a fruitful land into barrenness, a crowded city into a wilderness. Let us compare all we discover in the book of the Lord, with the dealings of providence around us, that we may be more diligent in seeking the kingdom of God and his righteousness. What the mouth of the Lord has commanded, his Spirit will perform. And let us observe how the evidences of the truth continually increase, as one prophecy after another is fulfilled, until these awful scenes bring in more happy days. As Israel was a figure of the Christian church, so the Edomites, their bitter enemies, represent the enemies of the kingdom of Christ. God's Jerusalem may be laid in ruins for a time, but the enemies of the church shall be desolate for ever....

AND THE STREAMS THEREOF - The idea here is, that there would be as great and awful a destruction as if the streams everywhere should become pitch or resin, which would be set on fire, and which would fill the land with flame. This image is very striking, as we may see by supposing the rivers and streams in any land to flow not with water, but with heated pitch, turpentine, or tar, and that this was all suddenly kindled into a flame. It cannot be supposed that this is to be taken literally. The image is evidently taken from the destruction of Sodom and Gamorrah (Genesis 19:25), an image which is more fully used in reference to the same subject in Jeremiah 49:17 : ‘And Edom shall be a desolation;... as in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the neighbor cities the

SECTION 11. THE DIVINE JUDGMENT ON THE WORLD, AND THE GLORY OF THE CHURCH CONSEQUENT UPON IT (Isaiah 34:1; Isaiah 35:1.). EXPOSITION Isaiah 34:1 and Isaiah 35:1. are generally recognized as constituting a distinct prophecy, complete in itself, and only slightly connected with what precedes. The passage is, as Bishop Lowth observes, "an entire, regula

AND THE STREAMS THEREOF SHALL BE TURNED INTO PITCH,.... The Septuagint render it, "the valleys"; the word signifying both rivers and valleys, most render it rivers or streams. The Targum is express, "the rivers of Rome shall be turned into pitch;'' by which may be meant the maritime places belonging to the Romish jurisdiction, the same on which the third vial will be poured, by which the rivers and fountains of waters will become blood; and which refers to this very time, when blood shall be given to the whore of Rome to drink, Revelation 16:4. The allusion, in this and some following clauses, is to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah; see Jeremiah 49:17: AND THE DUST THEREOF INTO BRIMSTONE; and so easily take fire: and th

CHAPTER 34 The Day of Jehovah 1. _Addressed to the world: Jews and Gentiles involved (Isaiah 34:1)_ 2. _The shaking of the earth and the heavens (Isaiah 34:2)_ 3. _The day of vengeance (Isaiah 34:9)_ This is one of the darkest Chapter s in the Bible. A worldwide judgment is described such as has never taken place in the history of the world. The indignation of the Lord is then upon all nations and upon their armies. Like chapter 33, it tells of the great judgments to come....

Edom is near to the Dead Sea, and the country is volcanic, and these facts suggest this lurid picture of judgment. Edom's rivers will be turned to pitch, its dust to brimstone, the land shall be a smoking, desolate wilderness for ever and ever. Pelican and bittern (Isaiah 14:23 *), owl and raven, shall dwell in it; it shall be reduced to utter chaos. Satyrs shall dwell in it, its rulers shall be destroyed. The palaces will be overrun with thorns and thistles, and be the dwelling-place of wild beasts and uncanny monsters. Let those who read this book verify the description for themselves, for Yahweh has allotted Edom to these creatures as their promised land, just as He allotted Canaan to the tribes of Israel. ISAIAH 34:11_ b_. CONFUSION AND EMPTINESS are the words which describe the prime

The description is no doubt suggested by the volcanic phenomena which accompanied the destruction of the neighbouring cities of the Plain (Genesis 19; Jeremiah 49:18). The division of clauses in the LXX. is much preferable to that in the Hebrew Text. Render accordingly: … AND ITS LAND SHALL BECOME PITCH, BURNING NIGHT AND DAY; IT SHALL NOT BE QUENCHED FOR EVER; ITS SMOKE SHALL GO UP FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION; IT SHALL LIE WASTE TO ALL ETERNITY, NONE PASSING THROUGH IT (so Cheyne). The last two clauses prepare for the transition to the other picture of ruin, which is elaborated in the verses that follow....

AND THE STREAMS THEREOF, &C.— The prophet, whose copiousness of speaking is every where inexhausted, paints, in the most chosen figures, an image of the land and city desolated by war, wasted by fire, and devoted to eternal devastation, by the divine judgment; which should not only be deprived of its inhabitants, and left to impure beasts and birds, accustomed to dwell in desarts and desolate places, but also, by the desolation brought upon it, should be rendered _uninhabitable,_ and present the appearance of the infernal flame, like another Sodom and Gomorrah, sending forth continually black smoke and horrid smells. This is the sense of the period, as must be plain to every one. See ch. Isaiah 13:19, &c. where the desolation of Babylon is set forth in similar terms. Though Rome pagan, and the Roman powers, have already suffered great desolation from the Goths and others, yet Vi