Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Isaiah 65:11

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Isaiah 65:11. That prepare a table for that troop - "Who set in order a table for Gad"] The disquisitions and conjectures of the learned concerning Gad and Meni are infinite and uncertain: perhaps the most probable may be, that Gad means good fortune, and Meni the moon. "But why should we be solicitous about it?" says Schmidius. "It appears sufficiently, from the circumstances, that they were false gods; either stars, or some natural objects; or a mere fiction. The Holy Scriptures did not deign to explain more clearly what these objects of idolatrous worship were; but chose rather, that the memory of the knowledge of them should be utterly abolished. And God be praised, that they are so totally abolished, that we are now quite at a loss to know what and what sort of things they were." Schmidius on the place, and on Judges 2:13, Bibl. Hallensia.

Jerome, on the place, gives an account of this idolatrous practice of the apostate Jews, of making a feast, or a lectisternium, as the Romans called it, for these pretended deities. Est in cunctis urbibus, et maxime in AEgypto, et in Alexandria, idololatriae vetus consuetudo, ut ultimo die anni, et mensis ejus qui extremus est, ponant mensam refertam varii generis epulis, et poculum mulso mixtum; vel praeteriti anni vel futuri fertilitatem auspicantes. Hoc autem faciebant et Israelitae, omnium simulachrorum portenta venerantes; et nequaquam altari victimas, sed hujusmodi mensae liba fundebant. "In all cities, and especially in Egypt and Alexandria, it was an ancient idolatrous custom on the last day of the year, to spread a table covered with various kinds of viands, and a goblet mixed with new wine, referring to the fertility either of the past or coming year. The Israelites did the same, worshipping all kinds of images, and pouring out libations on such tables," c. See also Le Clerc on the place and on lxvi. 17, and Dav. Millii Dissert. v.

The allusion to Meni, which signifies number, is obvious. If there had been the like allusion to Gad, which might have been expected, it might perhaps have helped to let us into the meaning of that word. It appears from Jerome's version of this place, that the words τῳ δαιμονιω, to a demon, (or δαιμονι, as some copies have it,) and τῃ τυχῃ, to fortune, stood in his time in the Greek version in an inverted order from that which they have in the present copies; the latter then answering to גד gad, the former to מני meni: by which some difficulty would be avoided; for it is commonly supposed that גד gad signifies τυχη, fortune. See Genesis 30:11, apud Sept. This matter is so far well cleared up by MSS. Pachom. and I. D. II., which agree in placing these two words in that order, which Jerome's version supposes. - L.

My Old MS. Bible translates: That putten the borde of fortune; and offreden licours upon it; and so the Vulgate.

Ἑτοιμαζοντες τῳ δαιμονιῳ τραπεζαν, και πληρουντες τῃ τυχῃ κερασμα Preparing a table for the demon, and filling up, or pouring out, a libation to fortune." - Septuagint.

Ye have set up an aulter unto fortune

And geven rich drink offeringes unto treasure.

COVERDALE.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

God’s people: servants or rebels? (65:1-16)

It was God’s desire that Israel seek him and enjoy his blessings, but instead the nation rebelled against him and stubbornly went its own way. Only a minority within Israel, along with those of Gentile nations who turned to Israel’s God, were really God’s people (65:1-2). As for the people of Israel as a whole, they had throughout their long history repeatedly made God angry. They sacrificed to other gods, consulted the spirits of the dead and ate forbidden food, yet all the time they claimed that they were holy but other nations were unclean (3-5). Consequently, God had punished Israel and sent the people into captivity (6-7).
Amid all the religious corruption of Israel there is still a faithful remnant. They are like a few good grapes in a bad bunch. For their sake God will restore Israel to its land, where faithful believers will worship and serve him in peace and contentment (8-10). But those who ignore his warnings and continue to worship foreign gods will be destroyed (11-12).
The minority of faithful believers, those who worship and obey God, are God’s truly chosen ones, God’s true servants. They will be blessed with God’s favour. The rest of the nation, those who ignore God, will be disgraced with God’s punishment (13-14). Although the ungodly will be destroyed, their name will continue to be used by the faithful as a symbol of the curse of God upon disobedience. The faithful, by contrast, will be given a new name, to indicate God’s favour upon them. They will live in loyal dependence on the faithful God (15-16).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

“But ye that forsake Jehovah, and forget my holy mountain, that prepare a table for Fortune, and that fill up mingled wine unto Destiny; I will destine you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter; because, when I called, ye did not answer; when I spake, ye did not hear; but ye did that which was evil in mine eyes, and chose that wherein I delighted not.”

Here we have an outcropping of the Jews propensity for worshipping “the host of heaven” (Acts 7:42). “The planet Jupiter was worshipped as the god Fortune; and the planet Venus was worshipped, sometimes as Second Fortune, or as Destiny.”Albert Barnes’ Commentary, Vol. II, p. 415. “In due course, those who worship Destiny will indeed receive their well-merited destiny. Note the word-play.”The New Layman’s Bible Commentary, p. 813. Note the stern words, “I will destine you to the sword.”

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

But ye are they that forsake the Lord - Or rather, ‘Ye who forsake Yahweh, and who forget my holy mountain, I will number to the sword.’ The design of this verse is to remind them of their idolatries, and to assure them that they should not escape unpunished.

That forget my holy mountain - Mount Moriah, the sacred mountain on which the temple was built.

That prepare a table - It was usual to set food and drink before idols - with the belief that the gods consumed what was thus placed before them (see the notes at Isaiah 65:4). The meaning here is, that the Jews had united with the pagan in thus ‘preparing a table;’ that is, setting it before the idols referred to, and placing food on it for them.

For that troop - Margin, ‘Gad.’ Perhaps there is nowhere a more unhappy translation than this. It has been made evidently because our translators were not aware of the true meaning of the word, and did not seem to understand that it referred to idolatry. The translation seems to have been adopted with some reference to the paronomasia occurring in Genesis 49:19; ‘Gad, a troop shall overcome him’ - יגוּדנוּ גדוּד גד gâd g^edûd y^egûdenû - where the word Gad has some resemblance to the word rendered troop. The word Gad itself, however, never means troop, and evidently should not be so rendered here. Much has been written on this place, and the views of the learned concerning Gad and Meni are very various and uncertain. Those who are disposed to examine the subject at length, may consult Rosenmuller, Vitringa, and Gesenius on the passage; and also the following works.

On this passage the reader may consult the Dissertation el David Mills, De Gad et Meni, and also the Dissertation of Jo. Goth. Lakemacher, De Gad et Meni, both of which are to be found in Ugolin’s Thesaurus, xxiii. pp. 671-718, where the subject is examined at length. Mills supposes that the names Gad and Meni are two names for the moon - sidus bonum, and μηνη mēnē. He remarks that ‘on account of the power which the moon is supposed to exert over sublunary things, it was often called the goddess Fortune. It is certain that the Egyptians by Τύχη Tuchē (Fortune), which they numbered among the gods who were present at the birth of man, understood the moon.’ Among the Arabians and Persians the moon is said to have been denominated Sidus felix et faustum - ‘The happy and propitious star.’ See Rosenmuller in loc. Lakemather supposes that two idols are meant - Hecate and Mann Vitringa and Rosenmuller suppose that the sun and moon are intended. Grotius supposes that the name Gad means the same as the goddess Fortune, which was worshipped by the Hebrews, Chaldeans, and Arabians; and that Meni means a divinity of that name, which Strabo says was worshipped in Armenia and Phrygia. Other opinions may be seen in Vitringa. That two idols are intended here, there can be no doubt. For,

1. The circumstance mentioned of their preparing a table for them, and pouring out a drink-offering, is expressive of idolatry.

2. The connection implies this, as the reproof in this chapter is to a considerable extent for their idolatry.

3. The universal opinion of expositors, though they have varied in regard to the idols intended, proves this.

Aben Ezra, Kimchi, and the rabbis generally suppose that by Gad the planet Jupiter was intended, which they say was worshipped throughout the East as the god of fortune, and this is now the prevalent opinion. The word גד gad, says Gesenius, means fortune, especially the god Fortune, which was worshipped in Babylon. He supposes that it was the same idol which was also called Baal or Bel (compare the notes at Isaiah 46:1), and that by this name the planet Jupiter - Stella Jovis - was intended, which was regarded throughout the East as the genius and giver of good fortune, hence called by the Arabians bona fortuna major - ‘the greater good fortune.’ The word ‘Meni,’ on the other hand, Gesenius supposes to denote the planet Venus, called in the East bolla fortuna minor - ‘the lesser good fortune.’ The Vulgate renders this, Fortunae - ‘To Fortune.’ The Septuagint, Τῷ δαιμονίῳ tō daimoniō - ‘To a demon;’ though, in the corresponding member, Meni is rendered by τῇ τύχῃ tē tuchē - ‘To Fortune,’ and it is possible that the order of the words has been inverted, and that they meant to render the word Gad by Fortune. The Chaldee renders it simply, לטעון l^eṭa‛^evân - ‘To idols.’ It is agreed on all hands that some idol is here referred to that was extensively worshipped in the East; and the general impression is, that it was an idol representing Fortune. But whether it was the Sun, or the planet Jupiter, is not easy to determine.

That it was customary to place a table before the idol has been already remarked, and is expressly affirmed by Jerome. ‘In all cities,’ says he, ‘and especially in Egypt, and in Alexandria, it was an ancient custom of idolatry, that on the last day of the year, and of the last month, they placed a table filled with food of various kinds, and a cup containing wine and honey mixed together - poculum mulso mistum - either as an expression of thankfulness for the fertility of the past year, or invoking fertility for the coming year.’ Thus Herodotus (iii. 18) also describes the celebrated table of the sun in Ethiopia. ‘What they call the table of the sun was this: A plain in the vicinity of the city was filled, to the height of four feet, with roasted flesh of all kinds of animals, which was carried there in the night under the inspection of magistrates; during the day, whoever pleased was at liberty to go and satisfy his hunger. The natives of the place affirm that the earth spontaneously produces all these viands; this, however, is what they call the table of the sun.’

And that furnish the drink-offering - In all ancient worship, it was customary to pour out a libation, or a drink-offering. This was done among idolaters, to complete the idea of a repast. As they placed food before the idols, so they also poured out wine before them, with the idea of propitiating them (see the notes at Isaiah 57:6).

To that number - Margin, ‘Meni.’ The phrase, ‘to that number’ evidently conveys no idea, and it would have been much better to have retained the name Meni, without any attempt to translate it. The rendering, ‘to that number’ was adopted because the word מני m^enı̂y is derived from מנה mânâh, to allot, to appoint, to number. Various opinions also have been entertained in regard to this. Rosenmuller and many others suppose that the moon is intended, and it has been supposed that the name Meni was given to that luminary because it numbered the months, or divided the time. Bynaeus and David Mills have endeavored to demonstrate that this was the moon, and that this was extensively worshipped in Eastern nations. Vitringa supposes that it was the same deity which was worshipped by the Syrians and Philistines by the name of Astarte, or Ashtaroth, as it is called in the Scripture; or as οὐρανίης ouraniēs, the queen of heaven; and if the name Gad be supposed to represent the sun, the name Meni will doubtless represent the moon.

The goddess Ashtaroth or Astarte, was a goddess of the Sidonians, and was much worshipped in Syria and Phenicia. Solomon introduced her worship in Jerusalem 1 Kings 11:33. Three hundred priests were constantly employed in her service at Hierapolis in Syria. She was called ‘the queen of heaven;’ and is usually mentioned in connection with Baal. Gesenius supposes that the planet Venus is intended, regarded as the source of good fortune, and worshipped extensively in connection with the planet Jupiter, especially in the regions of Babylonia. It seems to be agreed that the word refers to the worship of either the moon or the planet Venus, regarded as the goddess of good fortune. It is not very material which is intended, nor is it easy to determine. The works referred to above may be consulted for a more full examination of the subject than is consistent with the design of these notes. The leading idea of the prophet is, that they were deeply sunken and debased in thus forsaking Yahweh, and endeavoring to propitiate the favor of idol-gods.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

11.But ye forsakers of Jehovah, who forget the mountain of my holiness. That hypocrites may not abuse these promises, or think that what is said about the restoration of the people relates to them, he again addresses them by these words, and calls them “forsakers,” ⁽²⁰⁸⁾ because they “have forgotten” Mount Zion; that is, have revolted from the true worship of God. By “the mountain of holiness” he denotes figuratively the rule of a holy life which had been laid down in the word of the Lord; for the temple had been built by the command of the Lord, that these men might call upon him; and likewise the altar on which the Lord wished that sacrifices should be offered. Thus those sacrifices and oblations were impure which were offered in other places, or to other gods, or in any way different from the strict observance of the ceremonies of the Law. It is not lawful for men to undertake anything at their own suggestion; for the Lord demands nothing but obedience, (1 Samuel 15:22,) and there is no obedience without faith; and there is no faith without the word, (Romans 10:17,) by which alone we are at liberty to inquire or think concerning God.

Who prepare a table for the army ⁽²⁰⁹⁾ He enumerates their superstitions. The word גד (Gad) is variously explained. Some think that it denotes Jupiter, or the star of Jupiter; and others that it denotes Fortune. Jerome translates the words, “Ye who spread a table for fortune;” for he thinks that it means prosperity. But I think it more probable that גד (Gad) means “a band,” or “a troop,” or even “an army;” and this agrees well with the etymology of the word and the context. One passage is especially worthy of notice, (Genesis 30:11,) in which Leah rejoices on account of the addition of children; for I think that the word which he employs, בגד (begad), ought to be understood as if she had said, “Now, I have plenty of children;” for she had many children before that time, and hence she gave the name גד (Gad) to her fifth son. Accordingly, I think that גד (Gad) ought to be interpreted, in this passage, as meaning “a troop,” or “an army;” because their false gods were so numerous, that they could scarcely be numbered for multitude.

And fill an oblation to the number. To fill may here be taken in two senses; either that they supplied everything largely and bountifully for the worship of idols; (for superstition has no limit or measure, and they who are niggardly in the worship of God very cheerfully spend all that they have for the sake of idols;) or that they passed by no idol to which they did not render their worship. I prefer the latter meaning; for idolaters do not think that they have done enough, if they do not give honor to each of the saints; and the more numerous the saints whom they have honored, they think that they will have better success. We have too great experience of this every day in the Papists.

By “number” he means the same thing as he formerly meant by “army;” for it is a repetition which is very customary among Hebrew writers. He means, therefore, that “a table is prepared,” that is, sacrifice is offered, not to a single idol, but to a great number of idols; in order to shew clearly how grievous are the punishments which they have deserved.

(208) “Et les appelle apostats.” “And calls them apostates.”

(209) “That prepare a table for that troop, (or, Gad.)” — Eng. Ver. “A table. A lectisternium the Romans called it. Gad and Meni were heathen deities, or perhaps two appellations of the same idol, according to the scriptural manner of expressing the same thing, in the same sentence, by its different names; so in Jeremiah 32:35, Baal and Moloch mean one false god. Gad, in Arabic, is Goodness. Meni denoted the Moon, from מנה (manah), to number; whence μὴν, a month, and μηνὴ, the ancient Greek name for the moon.” —Stock, who quotes Rosenmuller as his authority.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 65

Now God answers the prayer offered by the remnant of the people and He said,

I am sought of them that asked not for me ( Isaiah 65:1 );

Here's the remnant of the Jewish people calling to God. "If You've forsaken us, won't You remember us?" and all this. And God answers them and He says, "I am sought of them that asked not for Me."

I am found of them that sought me not: I said, Behold me, behold me, unto a nation that was not called by my name. I have spread out my hands all the day to a rebellious people, which walked in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts; a people that provoked me to anger continually to my face; that sacrificed in gardens, and burned incense upon altars of brick; Which remain among the graves, and lodge in the monuments, and eat swine's flesh, and broth of abominable things is in their vessels; Which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than you. These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burned all the day ( Isaiah 65:1-5 ).

So God is declaring here now how that He stretched out His hands actually to the Gentiles. And Paul quotes this in Romans the tenth chapter as he shows how that God set the nation Israel aside that He might draw out from among the Gentiles a people for His name. And he quotes here in tenth chapter from this passage here in Isaiah where God speaks about how that He has been found really by them who did not seek Me. He turned to another nation that wasn't called by His name. "For all day long," He said, "I've stretched out my hands to a rebellious people which walked in their own ways and not after Me." Which had committed these abominable practices against the Lord. Who became as an irritant unto God. Smoke in His nostrils.

Behold, it is written before me: I will not keep silence, but will recompense, even recompense into their bosom, your iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers together, saith the LORD, which have burned incense upon the mountains, and blasphemed me upon the hills: therefore will I measure their former work into their bosom. Thus saith the LORD, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it: so will I do for my servants' sakes, that I may not destroy them all ( Isaiah 65:1-8 ).

Speaks now, "I'm going to bring forth the faithful remnant."

And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah the inheritor of my mountains: and mine elect shall inherit it ( Isaiah 65:9 ),

"Mine elect shall inherit it." God is going to gather together His elect, Matthew 24:1-51 , and bring them back that they might inherit it. And to try to interpret the elect there as the church is just poor biblical exposition. It is the denying of God's restoration of the nation Israel and it is anti-Semitic in its teaching and it breeds anti-Semitism. That identity of Israel as the church. Because they then deny that God is going to yet deal with Israel, that Israel is through. And they excuse their hatred against the Jews by the fact that God has cut them off and we are now the Israel and so forth. But that is poor biblical exposition.

Sharon [the valley of Sharon] shall be a fold of flocks, and the valley of Achor a place for the herds to lie down in, for my people that have sought me. But ye are they that forsake the LORD, that forget my holy mountain, that prepare a table for that troop, and that furnish the drink offering unto that number. Therefore will I number you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter: because when I called, you did not answer; when I spoke, you did not hear; but did evil before mine eyes, and did choose that in which I did not delight. Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, my servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry: behold, my servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty: behold, my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed: Behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart, but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, and ye shall howl for the vexation of spirit. And ye shall leave your name for a curse unto my chosen: for the Lord GOD shall slay thee, and call his servants by another name ( Isaiah 65:10-15 ):

What is the other name by which He calls His servants? And in Antioch they called them Christians. The servant of God called by the new name. As God is at the present time still working among the Gentiles until the time of the Gentiles be fulfilled, which we are there. The days of God's grace and mercy and hand stretched out to the Gentiles is just about over. If you're going to become a part of the kingdom you'd better become a part of the kingdom in a hurry, because the opportunities will soon be over.

That he who blesseth himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God of truth; and he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God of truth; because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hid from mine eyes ( Isaiah 65:16 ).

Now in verse Isaiah 65:17 , it's sort of an isolated verse, for God goes out beyond, way out now, and He said,

Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind ( Isaiah 65:17 ).

Now this is out beyond the millennium, beyond the millennial age. He comes back in the next verse and deals with things of the millennium. But He goes out way to the end now that is described in Second Peter when God causes this whole universe to dissolve, to melt with a fervent heat. All of the works in it being dissolved, destroyed. And God said, "Behold, I create a new heaven and a new earth." Now there are those who teach the eternity of the earth. In other words, the earth is going to go on forever and ever. Using some poetic verses out of Psalms and verses that are in poetic form out of the Psalms. "The earth abides forever" ( Ecclesiastes 1:4 ), and all. Yet the earth and all of its works are going to be destroyed. Second Peter goes into quite a bit of detail in describing the end of the physical universe. The molecular structure as we understand it and know it.

Now in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth and the Hebrew word for create is bara, which is a word that means to create something out of nothing. Now only God has that capacity. There is another Hebrew word translated create or made, and that is the word asah. And that word in the Hebrew has as a meaning to assemble existing materials. So some man created this pulpit. Now he didn't say, "Pulpit be!" And poof! Out of nothing here was a pulpit. That would be bara. But man can't do that. He took the wood and he cut it and he planed it and he glued it and he put it together and he assembled the pulpit. He created the pulpit out of existing materials. Now man does have that capacity. Only God, though, has capacity of creating out of nothing. When God said, "Behold, I create a new heaven and a new earth" here in Isaiah, He again uses the Hebrew word bara. Out of nothing He's going to bring a whole new heaven and a new earth into existence. Now seeing then that the present earth and universe is to be dissolved, seeing then that all of these things are going to be dissolved, what manner of persons ought we to be? If the whole material realm is going to be destroyed, then what kind of a person should I be?

Well, if I am a total materialist, I'm going to be totally wiped out. So what kind of a person should I be? I should be spiritual. I should put my value in spiritual things. I should lay up my treasures in heaven where moth doth not corrupt. Where thieves cannot break through and steal. I should be spiritual, and a spiritual man and mindful of spiritual things because the physical material universe is going to be destroyed.

So "Behold, I create," bara, out of nothing, "a new heaven and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, or called into mind." When we get into that final age, out at the end of the millennium in the new heaven and the earth, we won't be saying, "Oh, you remember that day we were surfing down in Huntington?" You won't be remembering that stuff anymore. It won't be even coming into mind.

Some people are worried, "I could never really enjoy heaven if my parents aren't there or my children aren't there or something." It won't even be... You'll have no memory of these things. It will never be brought into mind. That is, that horrible period of history when man rebelled against God. All of the sorrow that has been brought because of that rebellion will be wiped out. Never brought into mind again. Now during the millennial age...

But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying ( Isaiah 65:18-19 ).

This is during the Kingdom Age. It's going to be glorious then.

There shall be no more an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die a hundred years old ( Isaiah 65:20 );

Now if a person dies when they're just a hundred, you'll say, "Oh, what a shame, young child died," because there will be a renewing of the earth during the millennial Kingdom Age back to the pre-flood conditions. Where again God will put a shield around the earth and we'll be protected from these cosmic radiations that cause the mutations and the aging process and so forth. And with this canopy that--and you'll be hearing all about this this week--the canopy that used to be around the earth and why men lived to be so long. Why lived so many years and why dinosaurs grew so big and why cockroaches were a foot long. You'll be finding all that out as we study this week of the world that was before the flood. It's interesting to look back and find out what the earth was like before the judgment of God in the flood. You'll be getting that this week.

"A child will die being a hundred years old."

but the sinner being a hundred years old shall be accursed ( Isaiah 65:20 ).

So during the millennial age... now, we will not die. We're in our new bodies. We've moved out of our tents and we'll be in our new bodies during the Kingdom Age. But there will be people that will live through the time of the Great Tribulation who will also live through the judgment of the nations when Jesus returns and they will live into the Kingdom Age. And they are the one that will be bearing children and so forth during the Kingdom Age. But we will be here to reign with Christ as enforcers of righteousness. As a kingdom of priests upon the earth, representing Christ to the people and the people to Christ. And we will be here to rule and to reign upon the earth with Him during this millennial age in our new bodies. Now what will our new bodies be like? I really don't know. Vastly superior to the one I'm presently in.

Paul said, "Some of you will say, 'How are the dead raised and with what body will they come? What kind of a body will it be?'" ( 1 Corinthians 15:35 ) And he said nature teaches you that there is resurrection from the dead. When you plant a seed into the ground it doesn't come forth into new life until it first of all dies. And then the body that comes out of the ground isn't the body that you planted. So I'm not going to be in this body. But God gives it a body that pleases Him. My new body is going to please God. That's all that matters to me. I know if it pleases God, I'm going to be very pleased with it. What will be the capacities? These are things I oftentimes wonder about, the capacities of the new body. How will we be able to... the transporting of the new body around. And there's a lot of interesting aspects about. It will probably be of a different molecular structure than this body, which will make being on the earth very interesting if you're different molecular structure, because you're walking right into the buildings and everything else. Even as Jesus in His resurrected body. But that's all for conjecture and all to find out in the future.

And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of the people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands ( Isaiah 65:21-22 ).

Mine elect, the Jews.

They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the LORD, and their offspring with them. And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear ( Isaiah 65:23-24 ).

Oh, the closeness of God and the rapport with the people.

The wolf and the lamb shall feed together ( Isaiah 65:25 ),

Beautiful Kingdom Age.

and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD ( Isaiah 65:25 ).

So the earth again being in harmony with God, and creation in harmony with God, and man in harmony with God. How glorious it must have been for Adam in harmony with the whole universe around him. Everything humming together in a glorious harmony with God. Oh, what a disastrous affect sin has had in putting man out of harmony with God and out of harmony with nature around him. I think of that song, "This is my Father's world. All nature sings and round me rings the music of the spheres." But man is out of harmony so often with nature and with God. And nature even itself has suffered from the curse and is out of harmony with God. Even the animal kingdom. The ferociousness of the lion, the wolf and these things, out of harmony with God. They are suffering the result of man's sin. "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

The divine response 65:1-16

The Lord responded, through the prophet, to the viewpoint expressed in the preceding prayer (Isaiah 63:7 to Isaiah 64:12).

"The great mass [of the Israelites] were in that state of ’sin unto death’ which defies all intercession (1 John Isaiah 65:16), because they had so scornfully and obstinately resisted the grace which had been so long and so incessantly offered to them." [Note: Delitzsch, 2:474.]

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Consistent faithfulness 65:8-16

The Lord proceeded to explain that even though He would destroy the ungodly, He would also spare the truly godly among His people (cf. Genesis 18:23-25).

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

In contrast to these faithful were those who forsook the Lord, who forgot Jerusalem as the specified place of His worship, and who participated in ritual meals to the gods Fortune and Destiny (cf. 1 Corinthians 10:21-22). Isaiah was using examples of idolatry that were present in his generation of Israelites to represent the idolatry that would exist after the exile. "Fortune" (Heb. gd) was an Aramean god (cf. Joshua 11:17; Joshua 15:37), and "Destiny" (Heb. mny) means "apportionment (of fate)" and may have a connection with the goddess "Manat" of Arabian mythology. [Note: Young, 3:509.] These may have been what became identified later with the planets Jupiter ("the greater luck") and Venus ("the lesser luck"), or with the sun and moon. [Note: Delitzsch, 2:483-85.]

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

But ye are they that forsake the Lord,.... Here the Lord returns to the body of the people again, the unbelievers and rejecters of the Messiah, who turned away from him, would not hear his doctrine, nor submit to his ordinances; they forsook the worship of the Lord, as the Targum; yea, some that professed to be his disciples, and followed him for a while, left him, and walked no more with him, John 6:60:

that forget my holy mountain; Mount Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, the Gospel church, to which the seed or heirs, the chosen of God, and the servants of the Lord among the Jews, came, and enjoyed the immunities of it, and worshipped the Lord there; but these men forgot it, and either never came, or, if any of them did, they soon forsook the assembling of themselves together, as the manner of some was, Hebrews 12:22:

that prepare a table for that troop; or, "for a troop"; a troop of idols worshipped; or, "for Gad", which some take to be the name of a star; and R. Moses the priest says it is the name of the star Jupiter, in the Arabic language, a lucky star. The Vulgate Latin version renders it, "for fortune": and the word is used by the Jewish writers y for the goddess Fortune, or good luck, and who make mention of "the bed of fortune" z; a bed, which, they say, is prepared for a star, and no man may sleep on it; and a table also, which they might not use but for that star, the same with the table here; for they used beds or couches at their tables, or at eating. And Jerom on the place says, it was an old custom in Egypt, particularly in Alexandria and other cities, on the last day of the year, to prepares table, with all kind of provisions for eating and drinking, by way of thankfulness for the fertility of the last year, and in order to obtain it in the year following; and this the Israelites did. "Table" seems to be put for an altar, on which sacrifice was offered to idols. Mention is made by Herodotus a of the table of the sun among the Ethiopians.

And that furnish the drink offering unto that number: or, "to a number"; to a number of deities, which were as numerous as their cities, Jeremiah 2:28 and according to the number of them they provided drink offerings, or a mixture of wine and water; and also according to the number of the priests that sacrificed they filled cups of wine, as Jarchi observes; or according to the number of letters in a person's name they wished well to, as many cups they drank, to which Sanctius thinks the allusion is; or to "Meni", which R. Moses takes to be the name of a star; some interpret it of a number of stars or planets, the seven planets particularly; and others of the planet Mercury. Some think it is the name of an idol, either, of an idol of the Arabians, as Pocock b; or of the Armenians, as others, Armenia being called Minni, Jeremiah 51:27. The Targum interprets both clauses of idol deities; and so, in the gloss on the Talmud c, they are both said to be the names of idols. Bynaeus d seems to me to have advanced the best notion of Gad and Meni, translated "that troop", and "that number", which is, that the one signifies the sun, and the other the moon, which he supports with many reasons; so Vitringa; and yet there is a difficulty in the words, how they are to be applied to the Jews in the times of Christ and the apostles, when they were not guilty of such idolatrous practices; unless this is to be understood of the sins of their forefathers visited on them, as in Isaiah 65:3, though this is said of the same persons that forsook the Lord, and forgot his mountain; wherefore I am inclined to think that some thing like this is the sense of the words; that the evil charged upon this people, and of which they were guilty, was, that they regarded the stars, and attributed their case and circumstances to the influences of them, or to fate and fortune, rather than to the providence of God; or trusted in their troops and numbers, and so defied and despised the Roman army that besieged them, which was their ruin.

y Bereshit Rabba, sect. 65. fol. 58. 2. T. Bab. Cholin, fol. 40. 1. z T. Bab. Nedarim, fol. 56. 1. & Gloss. in ib, & Sanhedrin, fol. 20, 1. Gloss. in ib. a Thalia, sive I. 3. c. 18. b Specimen Hist. Arab, p. 92, 93. c T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 92. 1. & Gloss. in ib. T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 67. 2. d De Caleeis Hebraeor. I. 1. c. 9. sect. 7, &c.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      11 But ye are they that forsake the LORD, that forget my holy mountain, that prepare a table for that troop, and that furnish the drink offering unto that number.   12 Therefore will I number you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter: because when I called, ye did not answer; when I spake, ye did not hear; but did evil before mine eyes, and did choose that wherein I delighted not.   13 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, my servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry: behold, my servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty: behold, my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed:   14 Behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart, but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall howl for vexation of spirit.   15 And ye shall leave your name for a curse unto my chosen: for the Lord GOD shall slay thee, and call his servants by another name:   16 That he who blesseth himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God of truth; and he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God of truth; because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hid from mine eyes.

      Here the different states of the godly and wicked, of the Jews that believed and of those that still persisted in unbelief, are set the one over--against the other, as life and death, good and evil, the blessing and the curse.

      I. Here is the fearful doom of those that persisted in their idolatry after the deliverance out of Babylon, and in infidelity after the preaching of the gospel of Christ. Observe,

      1. What the doom is that is here threatened: "I will number you to the sword as sheep for the slaughter, and there shall be no escaping, no standing out; you shall all bow down to it," Isaiah 65:12; Isaiah 65:12. God's judgments come, (1.) Regularly, and are executed according to the commission. Those fall by the sword that are numbered or counted out to it, and none besides. Though the sword seems to devour promiscuously one as well as another, yet it is made to know its number and shall not exceed. (2.) Irresistibly. The strongest and most stout-hearted sinners shall be forced to bow before them; for none ever hardened their hearts against God and prospered.

      2. What the sins are that number them to the sword. (1.) Idolatry was the ancient sin (Isaiah 65:11; Isaiah 65:11): "You are those who, instead of seeking me and serving me as my people, forsake the Lord, disown him, and cast him off to embrace other gods, who forget my holy mountain (the privileges it confers and the obligations it lays you under) to burn incense upon the mountains of your idols (Isaiah 65:7; Isaiah 65:7), and have deserted the one only living and true God." They prepared a table for that troop of deities which the heathen worship and poured out drink-offerings to that numberless number of them; for those that thought one God too little never thought scores and hundreds sufficient, but were still adding to the number of them, till they had as many gods as cities and their altars were as thick as heaps in the furrows of the field,Hosea 12:11. Some take Gad and Meni, which we translate a troop and a number, to be the proper names of two of their idols, answering to Jupiter and Mercury. Whatever they were, their worshippers spared no cost to do them honour; they prepared a table for them, and filled out mixed wine for drink-offerings to them; they would pinch their families rather than stint their devotions, which should shame the worshippers of the true God out of their niggardliness. (2.) Infidelity was the sin of the later Jews (Isaiah 65:12; Isaiah 65:12): When I called, you did not answer, which refers to the same that Isaiah 65:2; Isaiah 65:2 did (I have stretched out my hands to a rebellious people), and that is applied to those who rejected the gospel. Our Lord Jesus himself called (he stood and cried,John 7:37), but they did not hear, they would not answer; they were not convinced by his reasonings nor moved by his expostulations; both the fair warnings he gave them of death and ruin and the fair offers he made them of life and happiness were slighted and made no impression upon them. Yet this was not all: You did evil before my eyes, not by surprise, or through inadvertency, but with deliberation: You did choose that wherein I delighted not; he means that which he utterly detested and abhorred. It is not strange that those who will not be persuaded to choose that which is good persist in their choice and pursuit of that which is evil. See the malignity of sin; it is evil in God's eyes, highly offensive to him, and yet it is committed before his eyes, in his sight and presence, and in contempt of him; it is likewise a contradiction to the will of God; it is doing that, of choice, which we know will displease him.

      II. The aggravation of this doom, from the consideration of the happy state of those that were brought to repentance and faith.

      1. The blessedness of those that serve God, and the woeful condition of those that rebel against him, are here set the one over--against the other, that they may serve as a foil to each other, Isaiah 65:13-16; Isaiah 65:13-16. (1.) God's servants may well think themselves happy, and for ever indebted to that free grace which made them so, when they see how miserable some of their neighbours are for want of that grace, who are hardened, and likely to perish for ever in unbelief, and what a narrow escape they had of being among them. See Isaiah 66:24; Isaiah 66:24. (2.) It will add to the grief of those that perish to see the happiness of God's servants (whom they had hated, and vilified, and looked upon with the utmost disdain), and especially to think that they might have shared in their bliss if it had not been their own fault. It made the torment of the rich man in hell the more grievous that he saw Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom,Luke 16:23. See Luke 13:28. Sometimes the providence of God makes such a difference as this between good and bad in this world, and the prosperity of the righteous becomes a grievous eye-sore and vexation of heart to the wicked (Psalms 112:10), and it will certainly be so in the great day. We fools counted his life madness and his end without honour; but now how is he numbered with the saints and his lot is among the chosen. Now,

      2. The difference of their states lies in two things:--

      (1.) In point of comfort and satisfaction. [1.] God's servants shall eat and drink; they shall have the bread of life to feed, to feast upon, continually, shall be abundantly replenished with the goodness of his house, and shall want nothing that is good for them. Heaven's happiness will be to them an everlasting feast; they shall be filled with that which now they hunger and thirst after. But those who set their hearts upon the world, and place their happiness in that, shall be hungry and thirsty, always empty, always craving; for it is not bread; it surfeits, but it satisfies not. In communion with God, and dependence upon him, there is full satisfaction; but in sinful pursuits there is nothing but disappointment. [2.] God's servants shall rejoice and sing for joy of heart. They have constant cause for joy, and there is nothing that may be an occasion of grief to them but they have an allay sufficient for it; and, as far as faith is in act and exercise, they have a heart to rejoice, and their joy is their strength. They shall rejoice in their hope, because it shall not make them ashamed. Heaven will be a world of everlasting joy to all that are now sowing in tears. But, on the other hand, those that forsake the Lord shut themselves out from all true joy, for they shall be ashamed of their vain confidence in themselves, and their own righteousness, and the hopes they had built thereon. When the expectations of bliss wherewith they had flattered themselves are frustrated, O what confusion will fill their faces! Then shall they cry for sorrow of heart, and howl for vexation of spirit, perhaps in this world, when their laughter shall be turned into mourning and their joy into heaviness, and certainly in that world where the torment will be endless, easeless, and remediless--nothing but weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth, to eternity. Let these two be compared, Now he is comforted and thou art tormented, and which of the two will we choose to take our lot with?

      (2.) In point of honour and reputation, Isaiah 65:15; Isaiah 65:16. The memory of the just is, and shall be, blessed, but the name of the wicked shall rot. [1.] The name of the idolaters and unbelievers shall be left for a curse, shall be loaded with ignominy and made for ever infamous. It shall be used in giving bad characters--Thou art as cruel as a Jew; and in imprecation--God make thee as miserable as a Jew. It shall be for a curse to God's chosen, that is, for a warning to them; they shall be afraid of falling under the curse upon the Jewish nation, of perishing after the same example of unbelief. The curse of those whom God rejects should make his chosen stand in awe. The Lord God shall slay thee; he shall quite extirpate the Jews and cut them off from being a people; they shall no longer live as a nation, nor ever be incorporated again. [2.] The name of God's chosen shall become a blessing: He shall call his servants by another name. The children of the covenant shall no longer be called Jews, but Christians; and to them, under that name, all the promises and privileges of the new covenant shall be secured. This other name shall be an honourable name; it shall not be confined to one nation, but with it men shall bless themselves in the earth, all the world over. God shall have servants out of all nations who shall all be dignified with this new name. They shall bless themselves in the God of truth. First, They shall give honour to God both in their prayers and in their solemn oaths, in their addresses for his favour as their felicity and their appeals to his justice as their Judge. This is a part of the homage we owe to God; we must bless ourselves in him, that is, we must reckon that we have enough to make us happy, that we need no more, and can desire no more, if we have him for our God. It is of great consequence what we bless ourselves in, what we most please ourselves with and value ourselves by our interest in. Worldly people bless themselves in the abundance they have of this world's goods (Psalms 49:18; Luke 12:19); but God's servants bless themselves in him, as a God all-sufficient for them. He is their crown of glory and diadem of beauty, their strength and portion. By him also they shall swear, and not by any creature or any false god. To his judgment they shall refer their cause, from whom every man's judgment doth proceed. Secondly, They shall give honour to him as the God of truth, the God of the Amen (so the word is); some understand it of Christ who is himself the Amen, the faithful witness (Revelation 3:14), and in whom all the promises are yea and amen,2 Corinthians 1:20. In him we must bless ourselves, and by him we must swear unto the Lord and covenant with him. He that is blessed in the earth (so some read it) shall be blessed in the true God, for Christ is the true God and eternal life,1 John 5:20. And it was promised of old that in him all the families of the earth should be blessed,Genesis 12:3. Some read it, He shall bless himself in the God of the faithful people, in God as the God of all believers, desiring no more than to share in the blessings wherewith they are blessed, to be dealt with as he deals with them. Thirdly, They shall give him honour as the author of this blessed change which they have the experience of; they shall think themselves happy in having him for their God who has made them to forget their former troubles, the remembrance of them being swallowed up in their present comforts: Because they are hidden from God's eyes, that is, they are quite taken away; for, if there were any remainder of their troubles, God would be sure to have his eye upon it, in compassion to them and concern for them. They shall no longer feel them; for God will no longer see them. He is pleased to speak as if he would make himself easy by making them easy; and therefore they shall with a great deal of satisfaction bless themselves in him.