Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Isaiah 30:8

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Isaiah 30:8. For ever and ever - "For a testimony for ever"] לעד leed. So the Syriac, Chaldee, Vulgate, and Septuagint, in MSS. Pachom. and I. D. II. εις μαρτυριον, which two words have been lost out of the other copies of the Septuagint.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

The folly of relying on Egypt (30:1-33)

All Isaiah’s warnings against an alliance with Egypt are in vain. As he learns that a group of Judean representatives is on its way to Egypt, he points out again how disastrous this alliance will prove to be. Judah’s reliance on Egypt is against God’s will and in the end will bring only disgrace upon Judah (30:1-5).
Isaiah pictures the dangerous journey, as a caravan of donkeys and camels carry Judah’s payment through the dry southern region of Judah towards Egypt. He knows that the journey is a waste of time, money and effort (6). Judah thinks of Egypt as a great dragon (Rahab) that will help it overthrow enemy Assyria, but Isaiah knows that Egypt will be powerless to help - like a dragon that sits still and does nothing (7).
The prophet writes this discouraging message down as a permanent record that the people have been warned (8). But the sinful people do not want to hear messages that come from God. They want to hear only those things that please them (9-11). They trust for their national defence in a treaty with Egypt, which, to them, is like a high wall that protects them from enemy Assyria. But this wall will collapse on top of them (12-14).
Instead of trusting quietly in God the people trust in military strength. This is only inviting defeat, because the military strength of Assyria is greater than that of Egypt (15-17). God wants to help his people, but first he wants them to learn to trust in him (18).
Despite Judah’s rebellion, God in his mercy does not cast them off for ever (19). He is the great teacher who punishes his people when they turn from him, so that they might see their wrongdoing, give up their sinful ways and return to walk in the ways of God (20-22). Then God will pour out upon them the blessings of nature to an extent they have never before experienced (23-26). Upon their enemies, God will pour out his holy wrath (27-28). The people of God will celebrate their victory with much gladness and singing (29), but the Assyrians will be destroyed without mercy, as if burnt in a huge bonfire (30-33).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

THE PERVERSITY OF JUDAH

“Now go, write it before them on a tablet, and inscribe it in a book, that it may be for time to come forever and ever. For it is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of Jehovah; that say to the seers, See not, and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits, get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us.”

God instructed Isaiah in Isaiah 30:8 to write his prophecy in a book, “that it might be a witness forever, in order to prove the accuracy of the prophesy after history had vindicated it.”Peake’s Commentary Series, p. 456. This is another example, among many, many others, of behavior on the part of the prophet that cannot be reconciled with a “prophecy written after the event.” Note that, “The perpetuity of the written Word is here accepted as a certainty.”The Pulpit Commentary, p. 490.

“Children that will not hear the law of Jehovah” One needs to be outraged by such a comment as that of Dummelow who wrote, “`The law’ here refers to `oral instruction’ given by the prophet.”J. R. Dummelow’s Commentary, p. 436. No indeed! It is a favorite canard of critics that the Pentateuch did not exist at so early a date; but we are absolutely certain that references of this kind, of which there are literally dozens of them in all of the prophets, point squarely at the Pentateuch, which traditionally has for countless ages been called “the law,” there being no true basis whatever for denying that meaning of the words here.

The rebellious Israelites are here represented as saying to Isaiah, “Get out of our way… stop talking about that Holy One of Israel… Prophesy things we want to hear… Do not bother with the truth at all.” Of course, as Hailey said, “Surely they were not honest enough to come right out and say such things”;Homer Hailey, p. 253. but these verses graphically reveal their true sentiments.

The same attitude prevails in our world today in which people will not support preaching which reveals their sins and the certain punishment a righteous and holy God will execute upon wicked and unrepentant men, but prefer preaching that portrays God as a senile old grandfather, too lazy or indifferent to spank one of the children no matter what crimes of blood and lust rage beneath his very nose. Yes indeed, God is a God of love; but he is also a God of righteousness and justice; and “Vengeance belongeth unto God.” Gleason also noted this “modern” development: “Very modern is this demand that their clergy temper their messages to the desires and preferences of the people, rather than preach some unpopular doctrine derived from the Word of God.”Wycliffe Old Testament Commentary, p. 630. This attitude destroyed ancient Israel; and it will do no less for any generation that is foolish enough to adopt it.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

Now go - This is a direction to the prophet to make a permanent record of the character of the Jewish people. The fact to be recorded was, that they were rebellious Isaiah 30:9; the design for which the record was to be made was to show to future times that this had been the uniform character of the nation. The record was to be preserved that it might be a proof of the care of God toward the nation even in the midst of their long-continued and obstinate perverseness.

Write it before them - Before the Jews themselves, that they may see the record, and may have it constantly before them.

In a table - Or ON a table. The word לוח lûach denotes a tablet either of stone to engrave upon Deuteronomy 9:9; Exodus 31:18; or of wood 1 Kings 7:36. It is not improbable that this was to be exposed to public view in some conspicuous place near the temple.

And note it - Engrave it; that is, record it.

In a book - On parchment, or in the usual way of writing (see the note at Isaiah 8:1).

For the time to come - Hebrew as Margin, ‘The latter day.’ It was to be made in order that future ages might know what had been the character of that people, and what had been the patience and forbearance of God in regard to them.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

8.Now go, and write this vision on a tablet. After having convicted the Jews of manifest unbelief, he means that it should be attested and sealed by permanent records, that posterity may know how obstinate and rebellious that nation was, and how justly the Lord punished them. We have said that it was customary with the prophets to draw up an abridgment of their discourses and attach it to the gates of the temple, and that, after having allowed full time to all to see and read it, the ministers took it down, and preserved it among the records of the temple; and thus the book of the prophets was collected and compiled. ⁽²⁸⁹⁾ But when any prediction was remarkable and peculiarly worthy of being remembered, then the Lord commanded that it should be written in larger characters, that the people might be induced to read it, and to examine it more attentively. (Isaiah 8:1; Habakkuk 2:2.) The Lord now commands that this should be done, in order to intimate that this was no ordinary affair, that the whole ought to be carefully written, and deserved the closest attention, and that it ought not only to be read, but to be engraven on the remembrance of men in such a manner that no lapse of time can efface it.

Yet there can be no doubt that Isaiah, by this prediction, drew upon himself the intense hatred of all ranks, because he intended to expose and hold them up for abhorrence, not only among the men of his own age, but also among posterity. There is nothing which men resent more strongly than to have their crimes made publicly known and fastened on the remembrance of men; they reckon it ignominious and disgraceful, and abhor it above all things. But the Prophet must obey God, though he should become the object of men’s hatred, and though his life should be in imminent danger. Here we ought to observe his steadfastness in dreading nothing, that he might obey God and fulfill his calling. He despised hatred, dislike, commotions, threatenings, false alarms, and immediate dangers, that he might boldly and fearlessly discharge the duties of his office. Copying his example, we ought to do this, if we wish to hear and follow God who calls us.

Before them. אתם (ĭttām) is translated by some, “with them,” but it is better to translate it “before them,” or, “in their sight;” for it was proper that he should openly irritate the Jews, to whom he presented this prediction written “on a tablet.” Hence we ought to infer, that wicked men, though they cannot bear reproof and are filled with rage, ought nevertheless to be reproved sharply and openly; and that threatenings and reproofs, though they be of no advantage to them, will yet serve for an example to others, when those men shall be stamped with perpetual infamy. In them will be fulfilled what is written elsewhere,

“The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, and with the point of a diamond engraven on their hearts.” (Jeremiah 17:1.)

They must not think that they have escaped, when they have despised the prophets and shut their ears against them; for their wickedness shall be manifest to men and to angels. But as they never repent willingly or are ashamed of their crimes, God commands that a record of their shame shall be prepared, that it may be placed continually before the eyes of men. As victories and illustrious actions were commonly engraved on tables of brass, so God commands that the disgrace which the Jews brought upon themselves by their transgressions, shall be inscribed on public tablets.

That it may be till the last day. It was very extraordinary, as I remarked a little before, that the Prophet was charged by a solemn injunction to pronounce infamy on his countrymen. For this reason he adds “till the last day,” either that they may be held up to abhorrence through an uninterrupted succession of ages, or because, at the appearance of the Judge, the crimes of the wicked shall be fully laid open when he shall “ascend his judgment seat, and the books shall be opened;” for those things which formerly were hidden and wrapped in darkness will then be revealed. (Daniel 7:10.)

Here it ought to be carefully observed, that prophecies were not written merely for the men of a single age, but that their children and all posterity ought to be instructed by them, that they may know that they ought not to imitate their fathers.

“Harden not your hearts as your fathers did.” (Psalms 95:8.)

What Paul affirms as to the whole of Scripture is applicable to prophecy, that it

“is profitable for warning, for consolation, and for instruction,” (2 Timothy 3:16;)

and this is proper and necessary in every age. We must therefore reject the fancies of fanatics and wicked men, who say that this doctrine was adapted to those times, but affirm that it is not adapted to our times. Away with such blasphemies from the ears of the godly; for, when Isaiah died, his doctrine must flourish and yield fruit.

(289) Bogus footnote

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 30

Woe to the rebellious children, saith the LORD, that take counsel, but not from me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my Spirit, that they may add sin to their sin ( Isaiah 30:1 ):

Now these people, the judgment was coming. They knew that Assyria was marching. But rather than turning to God for counsel and for help, they were sending ambassadors down to Egypt to make a mutual defense pact with Egypt so that they could hire the Egyptians to come and to help defend them against the Assyrians. But the prophet said it's stupid to call on Egypt for help, because Assyria's going to wipe out Egypt. But Assyria's not going to wipe out you. Now your strength is just to stand still and do nothing but trust in the Lord. And woe unto those that are seeking counsel but not from God. "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly" ( Psalms 1:1 ).

People today are seeking counsel, but not from God. They are many of them going to ungodly psychiatrists who are filled with humanism and Freudism. And they are giving you the garbage and charging you a hundred dollars an hour for garbage. That's ridiculous! Woe unto those that take counsel but not from God. That seek to find a covering but not from the Spirit.

That go down to Egypt, and have not asked from God; [they seek] to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and they trust in the shadow of Egypt! ( Isaiah 30:2 )

But there's no real substance to Egypt. It's a shadow. It's going to decline. It's going to fall.

Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and your trust in the shadow of Egypt will only bring you confusion. For the princes were there at Zoan, and the ambassadors they came to Hanes [the major cities of Egypt in that day]. They were all ashamed of a people that could not profit them, nor be able to help nor profit, but a shame, and also a reproach. The burden of the beasts of the south: To the land of trouble and anguish, from whence come the young and old lion, the viper and fiery flying serpent, they carry their riches upon the shoulders of young donkeys, and their treasures upon the bunches of camels, to a people that shall not profit them. For the Egyptians shall help in vain, and to no purpose: therefore have I cried concerning this, Your strength is just to sit still ( Isaiah 30:3-7 ).

Now this is what the prophet Isaiah kept telling Hezekiah, "Don't worry about it. God's going to defend you. You don't have to worry about the Assyrians and their invasion, because God is going to take care of you. You're not going to have to fight the battle. God is going to fight for you. Now just trust in the Lord." And here he is saying, "Your strength is just to sit still and trust in God."

Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever ( Isaiah 30:8 ):

Write it down for them so that when God does, you can take the book out and say, "Look, this is what I told you. See? There it is."

That this is a rebellious people, they are lying children, children that will not hear the law of the LORD: Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Don't prophesy to us right things, but speak smooth things, prophesy deceitfully ( Isaiah 30:9-10 ):

Only tell me good things about me. Don't tell me the truth. I don't want to hear that. They say to the prophets,

Get out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us. Wherefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel, Because ye despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and you're resting on it: Therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant. And he shall break it as the breaking of the potters' vessel that is broken in pieces; he shall not spare ( Isaiah 30:11-14 ):

God's going to crack all of these pots.

This takes you out to the book of Revelation where it talks about the reign of Jesus Christ, who as with an iron, will pop the clay vessels and shatter them to pieces. Those that have exalted themselves, He'll pop them.

so that there shall not be found in the bursting of it a sherd to take fire from the hearth, or to take water withal out of the pit ( Isaiah 30:14 ).

There won't be enough left to even take water out.

For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall you be saved ( Isaiah 30:15 );

Don't go to Egypt. Just return and rest in the Lord and there you'll be safe.

in quietness and confidence shall be your strength: but you won't listen [you will not hear]. For you said, No; we will flee upon horses ( Isaiah 30:15-16 );

"We'll get away from the Assyrians. We'll get on horses and we'll flee." But he said, "Those who are chasing you will have faster horses than you do."

And a thousand will flee from one man; at the rebuke of five you will flee: till you are left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain. And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him ( Isaiah 30:17-18 ).

Now some of the more wealthy people were escaping to Egypt when they saw this Assyrian invasion coming. Get on their horses, head to Egypt, escape from. But Egypt fell to Assyria. However, Jerusalem stood. Those that stayed there in quietness and confidence trusting the Lord. The Lord wiped out the Assyrian army. The children of Israel didn't have to fight them. God delivered them. And we'll get to that as we move along here in Isaiah. God's judgment upon the Assyrians as He wiped out 185,000 in one night of the first line fighting troops. But here the prophet is telling them all along, "Quiet and confidence shall be your strength. Don't run. They'll chase you. They'll be faster than you are. They'll overtake you. But those that will wait upon God will be delivered."

For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more: he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when he shall hear it, he will answer thee. And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers: And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left ( Isaiah 30:19-21 ).

How glorious to be led of the Spirit and having God say, "This is the way, walk in it." What is the way? The way of waiting upon God and trusting in Him.

You shall defile also the covering of thy graven images of silver, and the ornament of thy molten images of gold: thou shalt cast them away as a menstruous cloth; thou shalt say unto it, Get thee hence. Then shall he give the rain of thy seed, that thou shalt sow the ground withal; and bread of the increase of the earth, and it shall be fat and plenteous: in that day shall thy cattle feed in large pastures. The oxen likewise and the young asses that ear the ground shall eat clean provender, which hath been winnowed with the shovel and with the fan. And there shall be upon every high mountain, and upon every high hill, rivers and streams of waters in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall. Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound ( Isaiah 30:22-26 ).

Sounds like the sun will go into a supernova.

Behold, the name of the LORD cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire ( Isaiah 30:27 ):

Again, we're getting into the day of His indignation, getting into the day of the great wrath, and this moon shall be as light as the sun and the sunlight seven times increased. It reminds us of the book of Revelation, chapter 16, as the Lord is pouring out the vials of His wrath upon the earth. In the fourth vial He gives power unto the sun to scorch men who dwell upon the earth. And men will be scorched by the sun during that time. And so the sun increased in its brightness to a seven-times intensity so that the moon reflecting the sun at night under a full moon, it would be as bright on the earth as it is usually during the daytime. And it does sound like the sun will go into a supernova state. And there are a lot of interesting implications to the sun going into a supernova state of the effect that it would have upon the earth and so forth. Of course, it would be devastating to the earth if the sun went into a supernova state.

The astronomers believe that when stars are about to die that they go into the supernova state. And supernova is a phenomena that we observe in the universe. We've observed many stars as they are about to die. They go into this tremendous intensity of light and they call them the supernovas because it gets so bright and they begin to emit so much radiation and all. And the astronomers have watched these stars in supernovas. If the sun should go into supernova, it would just about do in the earth. But it sure sounds like it here. The sun being seven times brighter, the moon being as bright as the sun and the sun becoming seven times brighter. Sounds like a supernova. But it speaks about "the name of the Lord comes from far, burning in his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation."

In Revelation it says for the cup at the time of the sun giving power. The sun to scorch men who dwell upon the earth, it says, "Woe to the inhabitants of the earth for the cup of His indignation overflow and is pouring out the cup of the wrath upon the earth" ( Revelation 14:10 ). And so here His indignation, "the tongue as a devouring fire."

And his breath, as an overflowing stream, shall reach to the midst of the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of vanity: and there shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people, causing them to err. Ye shall have a song, as in the night when a holy solemnity is kept; and gladness of heart, as when one goeth with a pipe to come into the mountain of the LORD, to the Mighty One of Israel. And the LORD shall cause his glorious voice to be heard, and shall show the lighting down of his arm, and the indignation of his anger, and with the flame of a devouring fire, with scattering, the tempest, and hailstones. For through the voice of the LORD shall the Assyrian be beaten down, which smote with a rod ( Isaiah 30:28-31 ).

Now we're coming back to the local situation. God's going to wipe out the Assyrian. However, the Assyrian here could also be a type of the antichrist who will be destroyed by the sword that goes forth out of the mouth of Christ when He returns.

And in every place where the grounded staff shall pass, which the LORD shall lay upon him, it shall be with tabrets and harps: and in battles of shaking will he fight with it. For Tophet [interesting scripture, Tophet] is ordained of old ( Isaiah 30:32-33 );

Tophet is hell. It is actually the Gehenna of the New Testament. And Hades is hell; Gehenna is another place. "Tophet is ordained of old." Jesus said that Tophet was prepared by God for the devil and his angels. It has been ordained of old, a place that God has ordained. The word means the place of a burning fire. In the New Testament it is described as the place that burns with fire, the lake of fire. And Tophet is ordained of old.

yea, for the king it is prepared; he hath made it deep and large: the pile thereof is fire and much wood; the breath of the LORD, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it ( Isaiah 30:33 ).

David said, "Where can I flee from Thy presence? If I ascend into heaven, Thou art there. Yea, if I descend into hell, lo, Thou art there." Here very graphically it describes this place known as Tophet; in the Greek, Gehenna. The final place of the wicked dead. Hell is not a place of eternal punishment. Hades. Death and hell are going to give up their dead which are in them. Revelation, chapter 20, when he sees the great white throne judgment of God, "and death and hell delivereth up their dead. And those whose names are not found written in the book of life are cast into the lake that burns with fire" ( Revelation 20:13 , Revelation 20:15 ). Gehenna, Tophet, this is the second death.

So hell will come to an end. When it gives up its dead to stand before God at the judgment bar. And then they will be cast into Gehenna. Now of Gehenna, the scripture declares, "And the smoke of their torment ascendeth from the ages through the ages" ( Revelation 14:11 ). "Aionios posto aionios" in the Greek, the strongest term there is for expressing eternity--from the ages through the ages.

Jesus said of Gehenna, "Where the worm dies not, neither is the fire quenched" ( Mark 9:44 ). Now there are those who say, "Well, hell is not a place of eternal punishment." We get, "Oh, but the Bible says." "No, the Bible does say that," and they can show you scriptures where hell is not a place of eternal punishment. Death and hell would give up the dead that are in them, Hades. But when you talk about Gehenna, you're talking about something else; Tophet, it's been ordained of old. And according to the scriptures, the smoke of the torment will ascend forever and ever. Jesus said, "Where the worm dies not, neither is the fire quenched."

You can read into that whatever you want. You can read out of that whatever you want. I personally just leave it alone. I have no intention of being there. And whether they are consumed and their smoke ascends forever and ever. But Jesus said, "Where the worm dies not." So to me the strong indications are that it will be an eternal separation from God and whether or not conscious, that's something that's in God's hands. I don't worry about that. I don't mess with that. It's out of my territory. That's in God's hands. And God will do what is right and what is fair.

But my great concern is with that new model that He's preparing for me. The new building of God that is eternal in the heavens. That's where I can get excited and really get into the glorious future that I have with Him. My eternal future with the Lord, that's the thing that can really get me excited.

Go ahead and read your next five chapters. You'll have a little while to read them. Some very interesting things. We get to the destruction of the Assyrian army that he has been predicting and chapter 33. And then chapter 35, the glorious light at the end of the tunnel after the earth goes through the Great Tribulation of chapter 34, coming into chapter 35, glorious Kingdom Age. I can hardly wait.

Shall we stand.

May the Lord be with you and bless you and keep you in His love and grace. May the Lord watch over you and may you be filled with His Spirit and walk in the strength and the power of the Spirit of God as He anoints you day by day. May you be enabled by Him, and may you enter into that fullness that He has for you. Walking with the Lord. Loving the Lord. Listening to the Lord. Alert unto the Lord in these last days when the world around you is walking in its drunken stupor. May your mind and heart be clear, sensitive to God and to the things of the Spirit. In Jesus' name. "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

The Lord commanded Isaiah to write a public record on a table and a private one on a scroll, two enduring witnesses against His people’s lack of trust in Him. The public record was for His people then to learn from, and the private one was for later generations. Other ancient Near Eastern nations recorded uniformly positive and complementary things about themselves, in contrast to what Isaiah wrote here about Judah. The content of what he wrote is unclear, but it was probably this oracle in some form.

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Punishment for trusting in Egypt 30:8-17

The Lord now commanded Isaiah to record this condemnation for trust in Egypt so there would be a permanent record of it. There were two reasons he was to do this. First, Judah had refused revealed truth in general with the result that she incurred guilt before the Lord (Isaiah 30:9-14; cf. Luke 6:6-11). Second, she had refused a specific message that would result in destruction from an external enemy (Isaiah 30:15-17).

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book,.... Meaning their sins, their rebellion against God, their trust in an arm of flesh, and contempt of the divine word; or the prophecy of their destruction, for these things; and both may be meant; which the Lord orders to be written before their eyes, in some public place, as in the temple, upon a table, a table of wood covered with wax, on which they formerly wrote, and then hung it up against a wall, that it might be read by everyone; and he would have him also engross it in a book, that it might be kept for time to come: now what God would have thus written and engrossed, must be something considerable, and of consequence; and, as it may refer to the sins of this people, may denote the blackness and detestableness of them, as being what they had reason to be ashamed of, when thus set before them; and, as it may refer to their punishment, it may signify the certainty of it:

that it may be for the time to come, for ever and ever; and so continue to their eternal infamy, and for the justification of God in his proceedings against them, and be cautious unto others. The Vulgate Latin version renders it, "for a testimony for ever", a witness for God, and against the Jews; and so the Targum,

"and it shall be in the day of judgment for a witness before me for ever.''

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      8 Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever:   9 That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the LORD:   10 Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:   11 Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us.   12 Wherefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel, Because ye despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and stay thereon:   13 Therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant.   14 And he shall break it as the breaking of the potters' vessel that is broken in pieces; he shall not spare: so that there shall not be found in the bursting of it a sherd to take fire from the hearth, or to take water withal out of the pit.   15 For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not.   16 But ye said, No; for we will flee upon horses; therefore shall ye flee: and, We will ride upon the swift; therefore shall they that pursue you be swift.   17 One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one; at the rebuke of five shall ye flee: till ye be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain, and as an ensign on a hill.

      Here, I. The preface is very awful. The prophet must not only preach this, but he must write it (Isaiah 30:8; Isaiah 30:8), write it in a table, to be hung up and exposed to public view; he must carefully note it, not in loose papers which might be lost or torn, but in a book, to be preserved for posterity, in perpetuam rei memoriam--for a standing testimony against this wicked generation; let it remain not only to the next succeeding ages, but for ever and ever, while the world stands; and so it shall, for the book of the scriptures no doubt, shall continue, and be read, to the end of time. Let it be written, 1. To shame the men of the present age, who would not hear and heed it when it was spoken. Let it be written, that it may not be lost; their children may profit by it, though they will not. 2. To justify God in the judgments he was about to ring upon them; people will be tempted to think he was too hard upon them, and over-severe, unless they know how very bad they were, how very provoking, and what fair means God tried with them before he brought it to this extremity. 3. For warning to others not to do as they did, lest they should fare as they fared. It is designed for admonition to those of the remotest place and age, even those upon whom the ends of the world have come,1 Corinthians 10:11. It may be of use for God's ministers not only to preach, but to write; for that which is written remains.

      II. The character given of the profane and wicked Jews is very sad. He must, if he will draw them in their own colours, write this concerning them (and we are sure he does not bear false witness against them, nor make them worse than they were, for the judgment of God is according to truth), That this is a rebellious people,Isaiah 30:9; Isaiah 30:9. The Jews were, for aught we know, the only professing people God had then in the world, and yet many of them were a rebellious people. 1. They rebelled against their own convictions and covenants: "They are lying children, that will not stand to what they say, that promise fair, but perform nothing;" when he took them into covenant with himself he said of them, Surely they are my people, children that will not lie (Isaiah 63:8; Isaiah 63:8); but they proved otherwise. 2. They rebelled against the divine authority: "They are children that will not hear the law of the Lord, nor heed it, but will do as they have a mind, let God himself say what he will to the contrary."

      III. The charge drawn up against them is very high and the sentence passed upon them very dreadful. Two things they here stand charged with, and their doom is read for both, a fearful doom:--

      1. They forbade the prophets to speak to them in God's name, and to deal faithfully with them.

      (1.) This their sin is described, Isaiah 30:10; Isaiah 30:11. They set themselves so violently against the prophets to hinder them from preaching, or at least from dealing plainly with them in their preaching, did so banter them and browbeat them, that they did in effect say to the seers, See not. They had the light, but they loved darkness rather. It was their privilege that they had seers among them, but they did what they could to put out their eyes--that they had prophets among them, but they did what they could to stop their mouths; for they tormented them in their wicked ways, Revelation 11:10. Those that silence good ministers, and discountenance good preaching, are justly counted, and called, rebels against God. See what it was in the prophets' preaching with which they found themselves aggrieved. [1.] The prophets told them of their faults, and warned them of their misery and danger by reason of sin, and they could not bear that. They must speak to them smooth things, must flatter them in their sins, and say that they did well, and there was no harm, no peril, in the course of life they lived in. Let a thing be ever so right and true, if it be not smooth, they will not hear it. But if it be agreeable to the good opinion they have of themselves, and will confirm them in that, though it be ever so false and ever so great a cheat upon them, they will have it prophesied to them. Those deserve to be deceived that desire to be so. [2.] The prophets stopped them in their sinful pursuits, and stood in their way like the angel in Balaam's road, with the sword of God's wrath drawn in their hand; so that they could not proceed without terror. And this they took as a great insult. When they went on frowardly in the way of their hearts they said to the prophets, "Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the paths. What do you do in our way? Cannot you let us alone to do as we please?" Those have their hearts fully set in them to do evil that bid their faithful monitors to stand out of their way. Forbear, why shouldst thou be smitten?2 Chronicles 25:16. [3.] The prophets were continually telling them of the Holy One of Israel, what an enemy he is to sin ad how severely he will reckon with sinners; and this they could not endure to hear of. Both the thing itself and the expression of it were too serious for them; and therefore, if the prophets will speak to them, they will make it their bargain that they shall not call God the Holy One of Israel; for God's holiness is that attribute which wicked people most of all dread. Let us no more be troubled with that state-preface (as Mr. White calls it) to your impertinent harangues. Those have reason to fear perishing in their sins that cannot bear to be frightened out of them.

      (2.) Now what is the doom passed upon them for this? We have it, Isaiah 30:12; Isaiah 30:13. Observe, [1.] Who it is that gives judgment upon them: Thus saith the Holy One of Israel. That title of God which they particularly excepted against the prophet makes use of. Faithful ministers will not be driven from using such expressions as are proper to awaken sinners, though they be displeasing. We must tell men that God is the Holy One of Israel, and so they shall find him, whether they will hear or whether they will forbear. [2.] What the ground of the judgment is: Because they despise this word--wither, in general, every word that the prophets said to them, or this word in particular, which declares God to be the Holy One of Israel: "they despise this, and will neither make it their fear, to stand in awe of it, nor make it their hope, to put any confidence in it; but, rather than they will be beholden to the Holy One of Israel, they will trust in oppression and perverseness, in the wealth they have got and the interest they have made by fraud and violence, or in the sinful methods they have taken for their own security, in contradiction to God and his will. On these they lean, and therefore it is just that they should fall." [3.] What the judgment is that is passed upon them: "This iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall. This confidence of yours will be like a house built upon the sand, which will fall in the storm and bury the builder in the ruins of it. Your contempt of that word of God which you might build upon will make every thing else you trust like a wall that bulges out, which, if any weight be laid upon it, comes down, nay, which often sinks with its own weight." The ruin they would hereby bring upon themselves should be, First, A surprising ruin: The breaking shall come suddenly, at an instant, when they do not expect it, which will make it the more frightful, and when they are not prepared or provided for it, which will make it the more fatal. Secondly, An utter ruin, universal and irreparable: "Your and all your confidences shall be not only weak as the potter's clay (Isaiah 29:16; Isaiah 29:16), but broken to pieces as the potter's vessel. He that has the rod of iron shall break it (Psalms 2:9) and he shall not spare, shall not have any regard to it, nor be in care to preserve or keep whole any part of it. But, when once it is broken so as to be unfit for use, let it be dashed, let it be crushed, all to pieces, so that there may not remain one sherd big enough to take up a little fire or water"--two things we have daily need of, and which poor people commonly fetch in a piece of a broken pitcher. They shall not only be as a bowing wall (Psalms 62:3), but as a broken mug or glass, which is good for nothing, nor can ever be made whole again.

      2. They slighted the gracious directions God gave them, not only how to secure themselves and make themselves safe, but how to compose themselves and make themselves easy; they would take their own way, Isaiah 30:15-17; Isaiah 30:15-17. Observe here,

      (1.) The method God put them into for salvation and strength. The God that knew them, and knew what was proper for them, and desired their welfare, gave them this prescription; and it is recommended to us all. [1.] Would we be saved from the evil of every calamity, guarded against the temptation of it and secured from the curse of it, which are the only evil things in it? It must be in returning and rest, in returning to God and reposing in him as our rest. Let us return from our evil ways, into which we have gone aside, and rest and settle in the way of God and duty, and that is the way to be saved. "Return from this project of going down to Egypt, and rest satisfied in the will of God, and then you may trust him with your safety. In returning (in the thorough reformation of your hearts and lives) and in rest (in an entire submission of your souls to God and a complacency in him) you shall be saved." [2.] Would we be strengthened to do what is required of us and to bear what is laid upon us? It must be in quietness and in confidence; we must keep our spirits calm and sedate by a continual dependence upon God, and his power and goodness; we must retire into ourselves with a holy quietness, suppressing all turbulent and tumultuous passions, and keeping the peace in our own minds. And we must rely upon God with a holy confidence that he can do what he will and will do what is best for his people. And this will be our strength; it will inspire us with such a holy fortitude as will carry us with ease and courage through all the difficulties we may meet with.

      (2.) The contempt they put upon this prescription; they would not take God's counsel, though it was so much for their own good. And justly will those die of their disease that will not take God for their physician. We are certainly enemies to ourselves if we will not be subjects to him. They would not so much as try the method prescribed: "But you said, No (Isaiah 30:16; Isaiah 30:16), we will not compose ourselves, for we will flee upon horses and we will ride upon the swift; we will hurry hither and thither to fetch in foreign aids." They think themselves wiser than God, and that they know what is good for themselves better than he does. When Sennacherib took all the fenced cities of Judah, those rebellious children would not be persuaded to sit still and patiently to expect God's appearing for them, as he did wonderfully at last; but they would shift for their own safety, and thereby they exposed themselves to so much the more danger.

      (3.) The sentence passed upon them for this. Their sin shall be their punishment: "You will flee, and therefore you shall flee; you will be upon the full speed, and therefore so shall those be that pursue you." The dogs are most apt to run barking after him that rides fast. The conquerors protected those that sat still, but pursued those that made their escape; and so that very project by which they hoped to save themselves was justly their ruin and the most guilty suffered most. It is foretold, Isaiah 30:17; Isaiah 30:17, [1.] That they should be easily cut off; they should be so dispirited with their own fears, increased by their flight, that one of the enemy should defeat a thousand of them, and five put an army to flight, which could never be unless their Rock had sold themDeuteronomy 32:30. [2.] That they should be generally cut off, and only here and there one should escape alone in a solitary place, and be left for a spectacle too, as a beacon upon the top of a mountain, a warning to others to avoid the like sinful courses and carnal confidences.