Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 8:14
And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offense to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
14. To those who obey this admonition, Jehovah shall be for a sanctuary; to all others a stumbling-stone. This contrast would certainly be clearer if (with the Targ. and Vulg.) we might insert “to you” after “shall be.” But the want of these words hardly justifies us in changing the text, or even in translating “He will shew Himself a holy object,” in the sense explained by the remainder of the verse. Although it is doubtful if the word is ever used for “asylum,” yet the sanctuary was in fact an asylum (Exo 21:14; 1Ki 1:50 ; 1Ki 2:28; 1Ki 2:30), and there is no great improbability in supposing that that idea is expressed here.
Two figures are used to set forth the threatening side of Jehovah’s relation to both the houses of Israel: the stone against which one heedlessly stumbles to one’s own destruction; and the snare in which a wild animal is caught unawares. Jehovah is a secret and sudden danger to those who walk in blind unbelief. Cf. Psa 18:26.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And he shall be for a sanctuary – The word translated sanctuary means, literally, a holy place, a consecrated place, and is usually applied to the tabernacle, or to the temple; Exo 25:8; Lev 12:4; Lev 21:12; Jer 51:51. It also means an asylum, or a refuge, to which one might flee in case of danger, and be safe; see Eze 11:16. Among all ancient nations, temples were regarded as safe places to which people might flee when pursued, and when in danger. It was deemed sacrilege to tear a man away from a temple or an altar. That the temple was so regarded among the Jews is manifest; see 1Ki 1:50; 1Ki 2:28. In allusion to this, the prophet says, that Yahweh would be a sanctuary; that is, an asylum, or refuge, to whom they should flee in times of danger, and be safe; see Psa 46:1 : God is our refuge and strength; Pro 18:10 : The name of the Loan is a strong tower; the righteous runneth into it, and is safe. It is also well known that temples and altars were regarded as asyla among the Greeks and Romans. The reference here is rather to an altar, as the asylum, than to a city or temple; as, in the other member of the sentence, the same object is said to be a stone of stumbling – a figure which would not be applicable to a temple or a city.
A stone of stumbling – A stone against which one should impinge, or over which he should fall. The idea is, that none could run against a hard, rough, fixed stone, or rock, without injuring himself. So the Jews would oppose the counsels of God; instead of making him their refuge and strength, they would resist his claims and appeals, and the consequence would be their destruction. It is also to be remembered, that God is often represented in the Scriptures as a rock, a firm defense, or place of safety, to those who trust in him. But instead of their thus taking refuge in him, they would oppose themselves to this firm rock, and ruin themselves; see Deu 32:4, Deu 32:15, Deu 32:18, Deu 32:30-31, Deu 32:37; Psa 19:14; Psa 28:1; Psa 31:2, Psa 31:8; Psa 41:2; Psa 42:9. Many of the ancient Jewish commentators applied this to the Messiah. – Gesenius in loc. It is also applied to Christ in the New Testament, 1Pe 2:8.
A rock of offence – A rock over which they should fall. The English word offence, had that meaning formerly, and retains it in our translation of the Bible.
To both the houses of Israel – To the two kingdoms of Judah and Israel; that is, to the wicked portion of them, not to those who were truly pious.
For a gin – A net, or snare, to take birds. The idea is the same as in the former part of the verse. By rejecting the counsel of God; by despising his protection, and by resisting his laws, they would be unexpectedly involved in difficulties, as birds which are caught in a snare.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Isa 8:14
And He shall be for a sanctuary
Sanctuary in God
I suppose that what all of us mourn over most in a bustling age, is a loss of sacredness in life.
We have no wish to secure the false-sacred–that which is merely ascetic; nor that which is merely solemn-sacred–the dull monotony of darkened church or gloomy retreat. We naturally say, if this is Gods world; if civil and civic duties, social and relative responsibilities, are all God-ordained ones, it is likely, at least, that here, we may be able to secure a heavenly citizenship amid earthly cares and customs. God will not call us to the wear and worry, the strain and temptation, of a life in the world, and leave our souls without sacred home and spiritual retreat in Himself. How often this idea recurs in the sacred writings. God is our refuge and rest–our hiding place, our dwelling place.
I. THE SACREDNESS THAT A REVERENT HEART DESIRES. Our Lord lived and worked amongst men, dined with the Pharisee, dwelt with the quiet family at Bethany, consecrated the marriage feast, and went to the publicans home. We, too, may secure sacredness for our lives.
II. THE SACREDNESS THAT MAKES SANCTUARY IN GOD HIMSELF. This is so beautiful: He shall be for a sanctuary. He whom wicked men dread and flee from–flee from, indeed, because He is a sanctuary; for, as of old, darkness cannot dwell with light, nor irreverence with reverence, nor mammon worship with devotion to God. We may carry very bad hearts into very beautiful places. Place is easily made unsacred. But the Divine nature must be spiritual Into fellowship with God there can enter nothing that is false or worldly or vile.
1. Sanctuary in a person. Yes; for even here, in this dim sphere of earthly friendship, our best sanctuaries, apart from our Saviour Himself, have been those who bear His likeness, and who do His will. If asked where the fountains of our reverence have been best nourished, and where the noble thoughts that make us men indeed, have been most wondrously fed, we should think of friends that have received us into the sanctuary of their love and friendship, and helped to diminish the dross of our character and to brighten the gold of our faith.
2. We abide in Him who says, I am He that liveth, and was dead, and behold I am alive for evermore. And if by His own Divine nature He is a sanctuary, He is so by experience too. He has been tempted in all points as we are, yet without sin. He suffered, being tempted.
III. THE SACREDNESS OF ALL THE FUTURE DAYS. He shall be. Names vary concerning what God is to suit need and experience. We translate the want, and then Gods name is translated to meet it. I am hungry, He is Bread; I am thirsty, He is Water; I am faint, He is Wine; I am heated in the way, He is a Rock Shadow in the weary land. We can suppose, therefore, that the word sanctuary meets special wants. Life is not always a seeking for a refuge, but it is so especially at certain times and in strange and desolate experiences. In 1 ooking forward, therefore, ourselves to lifes future seasons, we see what the soul within us cannot do in itself, and what nature can never perfectly be to any of us. Christ, and He alone, will be now and forever–a sanctuary.
IV. THE SACREDNESS OF PERSONAL LIFE IN GOD. We cannot say, as mediaevalism said, Enter the Church and be saved. We want to obey Gods sweet will–to seek more and more for union with Himself through Christ Jesus. (W. M. Statham.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 14. And he shall be for a sanctuary – “And he shall be unto you a sanctuary”] The word lachem, unto you, absolutely necessary, as I conceive, to the sense, is lost in this place: it is preserved by the Vulgate, “et erit vobis in sanctificationem.” The Septuagint have it in the singular number: , it shall be to THEE. Or else, instead of mikdash, a sanctuary, we must read mokesh, a snare, which would then be repeated without any propriety or elegance, at the end of the verse. The Chaldee reads instead of it mishpat, judgment; for he renders it by purean, which word frequently answers to mishpat in his paraphrase. One MS. has in stead of mikdash uleeben, lahem leeben, which clears the sense and construction. But the reading of the Vulgate is, I think, the best remedy to this difficulty; and is in some degree authorized by lahem, the reading of the MS. above mentioned.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Your sanctuary; a sure refuge to all that truly fear him, and rely upon him.
For a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence; an occasion of sin and ruin, at whom they will take offence and stumble, so as to fall and be broken, as it is expressed, Isa 8:15.
To both the houses of Israel; to the two royal families of Israel, largely so called; that of Judah, to wit, the house of David; and that of Ephraim: or, to the two kingdoms, that of the ten tribes, and that of the two tribes.
For a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem; which are distinctly mentioned, as a very observable and wonderful thing, because Jerusalem was the seat of the temple, and of Gods solemn worship, where all the means of knowledge and grace were in greatest power and plenty, where the thrones of civil and ecclesiastical judicature were established, where the most wise and learned doctors had their constant or frequent abode. And that such a place and people should reject Immanuel, or their Messiah, when he should appear, was so great and strange an occurrent, that the prediction of it was highly necessary, lest otherwise, when it came to pass, it should shake the faith of all who did believe on him; whereas now the accomplishment hereof was a notable confirmation of their faith, and an evidence that Christ was the true Messiah.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
14. sanctuaryinviolableasylum, like the altar of the temple (1Ki 1:50;1Ki 2:28; Eze 11:16;compare Pr 18:10); namely, tothose who fear and trust in Him.
but . . . offencethatis, a rock over which they should fall to their hurt; namely thosewho would not believe.
both . . . housesIsraeland Judah. Here again the prophecy expands beyond the temporaryapplication in Ahaz’ time. The very stone, Immanuel, which would havebeen a sanctuary on belief, becomes a fatal stumbling-blockthrough unbelief. Jesus Christ refers to this in Mt21:44. (Compare Deu 32:4;Deu 32:15; Deu 32:18;Deu 32:30; Deu 32:31;Deu 32:37; Dan 2:34;Rom 9:33; 1Pe 2:8).
gintrap, in whichbirds are unexpectedly caught (Luk 21:35;1Th 5:2). So at the destructionof Jerusalem under Titus.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And he shall be for a sanctuary,…. Not the king of Assyria, as Aben Ezra, but the Lord of hosts: the Targum rightly interprets it of the word of the Lord, the essential Word; of the Messiah, who is for a sanctuary, or asylum, a place of refuge for his people in all times of distress, and who is their dwelling place in all generations; he dwells in them, and they dwell in him; and where they dwell safely and securely, peaceably and quietly, comfortably and pleasantly, and that always; he is a sanctuary to worship in, in whom they draw nigh to the Father, and offer up the sacrifices of prayer and praise, and where the glory of God is seen by them, and they have communion with him; or “for sanctification”, as the Septuagint version; this Christ is to his people, 1Co 1:30:
but for a stone of stumbling, and for a rock of offence, to both the houses of Israel: which Jarchi interprets of Pekah, the son of Remaliah, and his company, and of Shebna and his company; but Aben Ezra much better of the kingdoms of Israel and of Judah, especially when the twelve tribes were under one form of government in Christ’s time. In the Talmud u it is explained of the two houses of the fathers of Israel; and these are they, the head of the captivity in Babylon, and the prince in the land of Israel; and the Nazarenes, as Jerom w reports, apply the words to the two houses or families of Hillel and Shammai, who were two heads of schools in Jerusalem, a little before the times of Christ, and were of the sect of the Pharisees; and to whom indeed Christ was a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, as he was to the Jews in common; who were offended and stumbled at his birth and parentage, he descending from poor parents; at his education and place of bringing up; at the mean appearance of himself and his followers; at the obscurity of his kingdom, it not being of this world, nor coming with observation; at the company he kept, and the audience that attended on him; at his doctrines and miracles; and at his death, and the manner of it; see Ro 9:32.
For a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem; even the principal inhabitants of it, such as the elders of the people, priests, Scribes, and Pharisees, who sought to entangle Christ in his talk, and to ensnare him by questions they put unto him; but were themselves snared and taken, convicted, confounded, and silenced. See
Mt 22:15.
u T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 38. 1. w In loc.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
14. And he shall be for a sanctuary. He promises that the true worshippers of God will enjoy tranquillity of mind, because the Lord, covering them, as it were, under his wings, will quickly dispel all their fears. There is an allusion to the word sanctify which he had lately used; for the word מקדש, ( mikdash,) which means sometimes a sanctuary, and sometimes a place of refuge, is derived from the same root. (130) The meaning therefore is, that God demands nothing for which he does not offer mutual recompense, because every one that sanctifies him will undoubtedly find him to be a place of refuge. Now, although in this sanctification there is a mutual relation between us and God, yet there is a difference, for we sanctify him by ascribing all praise and glory to him, and by relying entirely upon him; but he sanctifies us, by guarding and preserving us from all evils. As there were few who believed and relied on his promises, the Prophet wished that the godly should be fortified against this kind of temptation; for there was a danger lest they should be carried away by such bad examples as by a kind of tempest.
The Prophet therefore meant, “The Lord will be your best and most faithful guardian. Though others stumble against him, yet be not you terrified; remain steadfastly in your calling.” And here a contrast is implied, though not expressed; for a sanctuary may be said to be a citadel situated in a lofty position, and a bulwark for defending and guarding the godly, but for destroying and overwhelming the ungodly, because they rashly stumble against it. We shall afterwards see more clearly how this was fulfilled, partly during the reign of Hezekiah, and partly at the time of the captivity into Babylon; and yet at the same time Christ was prefigured, who was to be not a place of refuge, but rather a stone of stumbling to the Israelites. Isaiah forewarns them of this stumbling, that the godly may be aware of it.
To the two houses of Israel. The Jews ignorantly and improperly tear asunder this verse, instead of dividing it. “God will be,” say they, “partly a sanctuary and partly a stone of stumbling; as if by the two families he distinguished between the godly and the unbelievers. On the contrary, he enjoins believers, though nearly the whole multitude of both kingdoms should dissuade them from obedience to God, not to be discouraged, but to disregard everything else, and break through all opposition. The Prophet might have simply said, he will be for an offense to Israel; but he intended to express more, for he includes the whole nation, and declares that God will be their destruction. The nation was divided into two kingdoms, Ephraim and Judah; and, therefore, he mentioned both. There were, indeed, some exceptions, but he speaks here of the whole body.
This is a remarkable passage and cannot be sufficiently called to remembrance, especially at the present time, when we see the state of religion throughout the whole Christian world brought nearly to ruin. Many boast that they are Christians who are strongly alienated from God, and to whom Christ is a stone of stumbling. The papists insolently and proudly boast of his name, though they profane the whole of his worship by superstitions, and bring upon it dishonor and reproach. Among those to whom a purer worship of God has been restored, there are very few who embrace the Gospel of God with sincere regard. Wherever we turn our eyes, very sore temptations meet us in every direction; and, therefore, we ought to remember this highly useful instruction, that it is no new thing, if a great multitude of persons, and almost all who boast that they belong to the Church, stumble against God. Yet let us constantly adhere to him, however small may be our numbers.
For a snare to the inhabitant of Jerusalem. This is the second circumstance introduced for heightening the picture; for, after having mentioned the two kingdoms, he names the metropolis itself. Although the whole country was crippled, yet it seemed that the Lord kept his abode there. He therefore means that God became a snare, not only to the common people who were scattered throughout the fields and villages, but to the nobles themselves, and to the priests who dwelt in Jerusalem, who dwelt in that holy habitation in which God intended that the remembrance of his name should be chiefly preserved. That was testified also by David, that those builders whom the Lord appointed rejected the chief corner-stone. (Psa 118:22.) Christ quotes this passage against the Jews, and shows that it applies to himself. (Mat 21:42; Mar 12:10.) This happened, indeed, in the time of Isaiah, but still more in the time of Christ; for ungodliness and rebellion gradually increased till they came to a height. Accordingly, both the highest and the lowest, who always had obstinately disobeyed God, at that time broke out against him still more with unrestrained indulgence, and therefore their destruction also reached its height; for they were altogether rejected by God, whose Son they had refused. Hence also we infer the eternal divinity of Christ, for Paul shows that it is God of whom the Prophet here speaks. (Rom 9:33.) Now, he speaks not of a pretended God, but of that God by whom heaven and earth were created, and who revealed himself to Moses. (Exo 3:6.) It is, therefore, the same God by whom the Church has been always governed.
(130) It may aid the English reader, in understanding this observation, to be reminded that the two words sanctify and sanctuary, come from the same root, sanct, or saint, that is, holy. — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
GOD OUR REFUGE, OR OUR RUIN
Isa. 8:14. And He shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling, &c.
In God we live, and move, and have our being. We cannot be independent of, or indifferent to, Him, as we can in regard to some of our fellow-men. There can be no neutrality between Him and us. We must be obedient or disobedient to Him, and therefore we must find in Him our refuge or our ruinour helper or our destroyer. That this vast truth may be received into our minds, let us take it somewhat in detail.
I. We have to do with God in Nature. It is His world we live in; and all its substances and forces are things which He hath made, and intends to be used according to His plans. Nay, He acts in them [857] and in them He is willing to be our ally, but not our slave. We cannot use Him to carry into effect our whims and fancies, as the old magicians were said to use the genii supposed to be under their control. God is of one mind, He changeth not; what is called the uniformity of the laws of nature is one manifestation of His unchangeableness; and that unchangeableness is most merciful (H. E. I. 3156, 3157, 31733177). If we fall in with His laws of nature, all nature is on our side; wind and tide then combine to bear us into our desired haven; but if we will not do so, the very stones of the field will be in league against us (Job. 5:23; H. E. I. 3172, 4612) [860] E.g., gravitation. If a builder comply with the demands of this great law, it will give stability to his structure; but if not, from the very moment they are departed from, it will begin to pull down the hut or the palace he has builded. So with all the other substances and forces by which we are surrounded; they are for us or against us: there is no neutrality possible.
[857] He this flowery carpet made,
[860] Man, as the minister and interpreter of nature, does and understands as much as his observations on the order of nature, either with regard to things or the mind, permit him, and neither knows nor is capable of more. Nature is only subdued by submission.Bacon.
Made this earth on which we tread.
God refreshes in the air,
Covers with the clothes we wear,
Feeds us with the food we eat,
Cheers us by His light and heat,
Makes His sun on us to shine:
All our blessings are divine!
C. Wesley.
II. We have to do with God in Providence. Not only are we in this world, but, whether we like or not, we are under His government. He has laid down laws for our guidance, as communities and as individuals. These laws are vast and comprehensive; they cover every realm of activity and relationship of life; it is impossible for us to find ourselves in any place or circumstances in which some of them are not in force. If we obey them, they will be our helpers; if we disobey them, they will be our destroyers: obey one, and all others stand ready to befriend us; disobey one, and more manifestly all others become hostile to us. Illustrate
1. Communities. The law of frugality. The law of freedom of exchange. The supreme law for every nation is, that God shall be acknowledged as the supreme ruler, His will done, His protection sought and trusted in. It was this law that Ahaz and his people were setting at defiance (chap. 7), and God forewarned them that He would not stand idly by and see it broken (chap. Isa. 7:17-20). If any nation commit itself to a godless policy, it may achieve a transient triumph thereby (Isa. 8:6), but disaster is inevitable (Isa. 8:7). It may be delayed, but it is only that it may come in more awful form. United States of America: their maintenance of slavery when England abolished it, and their civil war.
2. Individuals. The comprehensive law (Mat. 7:12): if a man obey it, the very constitution of society fights for him; if he disobey it, that same constitution fights against him. From God, as the God of Providence, we cannot escape; we must have to do with Him as friend or foe. Those men who deliberately put Him out of their thoughts and plans find it so: just when they seem to themselves to be triumphing in their godless courses, they stumble against Him unawares. They are snared and taken in the great retributive laws of His universe.
III. We have to do with God in Redemption. In Christ, God is revealed, and therefore we are not to be surprised when we see this great Old Testament truth conspicuously illustrated in Him. In the New Testament we are distinctly taught that neutrality in regard to Christ is impossible (Mat. 12:30; 2Co. 2:16; Mat. 22:37-44). Not to accept His salvation, is to reject it; not to submit to His authority, is to rebel against it. We cannot choose whether we will have to do with Christ or not! All that we can decide is the nature of the relationship that shall subsist between us. We can make Him our sanctuary, and then all blessing is ours; or we can refuse to do this, and then He becomes to us a stumbling-block and a snare. Not as the result of any vindictive action on His part, but as the inevitable result of the working of our own nature and of the constitution of the universe.
1. The phrase, Gospel-hardened, represents a terrible reality (H. E. I. 24392442).
2. By our rejection of Christ, and consequent rebellion against His authority, we put ourselves on the side of those powers of evil which He is pledged to destroy, and then His very Almightiness, which would have insured our salvation, becomes our ruin, just as the very same force of wind and wave, which would carry a vessel rightly steered into the desired haven, hurls it when wrongly steered as a miserable wreck on the rocks outside.
Thus, in all the realms of life, we must have God with us or against us; and if God be against us, we have cause to lament that He is Goda being whom we cannot resist, from whom we cannot escape. Therefore,
1. Let us recognise what the realities of our position are. Let us not go on to eternal ruin through ignorance or heedlessness.
2. Let us make God our sanctuary. We may do this. He invites us to do it. Having done it, everything in Him that otherwise would terrify us will be to us a cause of joy (Rom. 5:11).
THE STONE OF STUMBLING
Isa. 8:14. And He shall be for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel.
This prophecy refers to our Lord Jesus Christ, and it has had a threefold fulfilment. It was fulfilled
1. In His own personal history. When He was made manifest to Israel He was so contrary to their conceptions of what the Messiah would bein the lowliness of His condition, in the spirituality of the kingdom He set up, and, above all, in the ignominiousness of the death He accomplished at Jerusalem,that they stumbled at and rejected Him.
2. In the experience of His disciples in all ages. In them He has been again despised and rejected. This He foresaw and predicted (Joh. 15:18-21, &c.). In the world there is an irreconcilable hatred of Christ as He reappears in His people (Gal. 4:28-29).
3. In the hostility which faithful preaching has always created. The preaching of the Gospel is the preaching of Christ (Act. 5:42; 1Co. 1:23; 2Co. 4:5). The great evangelical doctrines all centre in and flow from Christ and Him crucified, and can never be clearly and faithfully proclaimed without awakening the dis gust and enmity of the carnal heart. They necessarily humble sinful men, and they hate to be humbled. The offence of the cross is not yet ceased; multitudes still stumble at the truth, being disobedient.
1. How sad that Christ should be an offence and a stumbling-stone to a single soul! That His Word, which is sufficient for all the purposes of salvation, should become to any the savour of death unto death!
2. How terrible, and earnestly to be shunned, is that unbelief which thus reverses the design of Gods greatest mercies!
3. Whatever others may do, let us, with penitent and thankful hearts, make Christ our sanctuary.Manuscript Sermon.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
SANCTUARY IN GOD
Isa. 8:14. And He shall be for a sanctuary.
Not a few mourn, in the midst of a busy, bustling age, a loss of sacredness in life. Not the false sacredthat which is merely ascetic separation from life and duty; nor that which is merely solemn sacredthe dull heavy monotony of gloominess.
We naturally say that if this is Gods world, if civil and civic duties, social responsibilities, are God-ordained, it is likely, at least, that here we may be able to secure a heavenly citizenship amid earthly cares and customs. This is exactly what God reveals in the text. Sanctuary, He says, is not in mere place; not in separation from manly duty: I open up my very nature to you. How often this idea recurs in the Scriptures! God is our refuge and rest, our hiding-place, our dwelling-place.
I. THE SACREDNESS THAT A REVERENT HEARTDESIRES. Something within us asserts its dignity when society is frivolous and gay, and when the routine of life brings us into association with lives where the light even of conscience burns low, when the reverent wonder that filled even Pagan hearts has given place to scientific explanations of every spiritual function. When we are brought into contact with all this, then it is that we find how the high tides of the world cover the little green knolls of devotion, and sweep away alike the altar of prayer and the harp of praise. In all earnest natures there comes, at times, resentment at all this. We believe the divinity within us. We believe the high call of seer and prophet to nobler ends; we believe, above all, that Lord of life and light who tells us that the life is more than meat, and who fed His own life by the mountain prayer and the garden solitude. We should seek to secure the sacredness we feel we need, not in morbid methods, but in ways that are human, and ways that are Divine because they are human. Christ lived and worked amongst men. We, too, may secure sacredness for our lives; we may carry in our mien and breathe in our converse the springs of hope and faith and love which flow still from Zions sacred hill.
II. THE SACREDNESS THAT MAKES SANCTUARY IN GOD HIMSELF. He shall be for a sanctuary. He whom wicked men dread and flee from; for, as of old, darkness cannot dwell with light, nor irreverence with reverence, nor mammon-worship with devotion to God. We may carry very bad hearts into very beautiful places. Place is easily made unsacred, but into fellowship with God there can enter nothing that is false, or worldly, or vile. Sanctuary in a person? Yes; for even here, in this dim sphere of earthly friendship, our best sanctuaries, apart from Christ, have been men and women,those who bear His likeness, and who do His will. Sanctuaries? Yes; for with them we are ashamed of unworthy motive, of impure thought, of unsacred aim. Take Christ with you, and every place is sacred. This is our living sanctuary; we abide in Him who says, I am He that liveth, and was dead, and behold I am alive for evermore. And if by His own Divine nature He is a sanctuary, He is also by experience too. How much the human sanctuary of friendship is beautified when there is oneness of feeling about the battle and burden of life! Is it nothing, then, that when we speak of sanctuary in Christ we should mean sympathy, all that belongs to a brother born for adversityto Him who, as a Man of Sorrows, was acquainted with grief (Isa. 63:9)? We know indeed but little of the realities of religion unless we have found such a living sanctuary in Christ Jesus the Lord (H. E. I. 968975).
III. THE SACREDNESS OF ALL THE FUTURE DAYS. He shall be. Names vary in interpreting what God is to suit need and experience. We translate the want, and then Gods name is translated to meet it. I am hungryHe is Bread; thirstyHe is water, &c. The word sanctuary meets special wants. Life is not always a seeking for a refuge, but it is so especially at certain times and in strange and desolate experiences. We are alone in a strange city. The child must leave home to teach, to toil, to live; the weakness will come which presages decline and death; the soul does feel that some lights are lost to faith and that others are growing dim. He shall be for a sanctuary. Let the hours come: He will come too. Who can make retreat into his own heart and find perfect sanctuary there? Christ alone could do that. We cannot. Nature cannot afford us the sanctuary we need; she has healthy anodynes of atmosphere that afford us deep and quiet retreats, but sanctuary, in the highest sense, she has not. Christ, and He alone, will be now and for ever a sanctuary (H. E. I. 23782387).
IV. THE SACREDNESS OF PERSONAL LIFE IN GOD. We can have no safety or rest in Churches as such. They are helpful; they are houses of fellowship and centres of usefulness. But we cannot say, as Medivalism said, Enter the Church and be saved. The souls relation to God is personal and individual. Whether the relation of faith is real, vital, each soul can attest for itself; and that living relationship is all that can ever make life sacred to any man. When the life is hid with Christ in God, all is well, for all is sacred; and nothing that He has created us to do or to enjoy is common or unclean. So may God help us to keep a sacred life which finds sanctuary in the Saviour, until we find it where there is no temple, but where there is sanctuary in God (Rev. 21:22-23).W. M. Statham: Christian World Pulpit, vol. xvii. pp. 131133.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(14) And he shall be for a sanctuary . . .Literally, he shall become a hallowed thing, with the implied thought as in Eze. 11:16, that the sanctuary is also an asylum (1Ki. 1:50; 1Ki. 2:28). In that sanctuary, in the presence of Jehovah, there was a refuge from all terror, the answer to all misgivings (Psa. 73:17).
But for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence . . .The words have become so familiar to us through their Christian application (Mat. 21:44; Rom. 9:33; 1Pe. 2:8) that we find it hard to measure their force and meaning as they came from Isaiahs lips. Are the contrasted clauses connected by any common link of imagery? To enter into fellowship with Jehovah, is to enter into the sanctuary. He who stands on the stone which forms the threshold of that sanctuary, has gained an asylum. But to do that requires the clear vision of faith. He who walks blindly (Isa. 6:10; Joh. 11:10), without faith, may stumble on that very stone of the threshold, and what was safety and life for others, might for him bring pain and shame. He might be there sorely bruised (Mat. 21:44) like the wild animals taken in a trap (synonyms are heaped one upon another to increase the force of the imagery), till a helper came to release him. So, Isaiah says, was Jehovah to both the houses of Israel (the phrase is peculiar, and implies a hope of the restored unity of the nations life) in their self-chosen blindness. So St. Peter says, even the head corner-stone is to those who stumble at the word, being disobedient a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence (1Pe. 2:8). It lies in the nature of the case that the fall is not necessarily final and irretrievable. Men may be braised, but not ground to powder; may stumble so that they may rise again (Mat. 21:44; Luk. 2:34; Rom. 11:11).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
14, 15. He shall be for a sanctuary The context and its scope require this word to mean here, refuge, place of safety a figure for the MESSIAH himself.
Stone of stumbling A stone against which one dangerously strikes; over which, too, it is perilous for one to fall. Similar is the meaning of the next phrase.
A gin The figure is changed a trap to express another side to the peril of Israel and Judah in neglecting to make Jehovah their absolute trust.
Many among them Many, by the invasion which the Assyrian shall make. The repetition, here, of figures synonymous as to meaning is to be regarded as a strong poetic emphasis, and by such emphasis certainty of peril to unbelieving Israel and Judah is intended.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Isa 8:14-15. And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone We have here, in this third part of the present discourse, first, a prophetic denunciation of the judgment to be displayed in the time of the Messiah, both upon the pious and the impious,in these verses. Secondly, an exposition of that judgment, in the manner of a dialogue between two persons; God, and a certain illustrious teacher: the former explaining his design concerning the disciples of the latter; the latter assenting to that design, and explaining it, Isa 8:16-18. Thirdly, a prophetic exhortation subjoined, directed to the Jews, to receive the doctrine of God and his Messiah, with a prediction of the evils which should follow a rejection of this doctrine, Isa 8:19-22. Fourthly, a more plain and full description of this great Teacher, the Messiah, with many of his attributes, ch. Isa 9:1-7. In the verses before us, we have a prophetic denunciation of the two-fold judgment in the time of the Messiah. The subject of the discourse, which is not mentioned, must either be the Lord of Hosts, mentioned in the preceding verse, or Immanuel, mentioned in the 8th. The writers of the New Testament, who have so frequently quoted this passage, prove beyond all controversy, that the subject of it is the Messiah; the Lord Jesus Christ, God over all, blessed for ever; and in whose humanity Jehovah dwelt, and performed for his people all those benefits of grace which the extent of this promise implies, in which it is said that he should be for a sanctuary; and who at the same time became to the hypocrites and unbelievers in Judaea, a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, to the destruction of the far greater part of that people. See ch. Isa 28:13.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Isa 8:14 And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
Ver. 14. And he shall be for a sanctuary. ] In quo serventur, et in lapidem, in quo firmiter stent pit: impii vero impingant, ruant et conterantur, a sanctuary of safety, a stone of stability, though to the wicked he prove otherwise – even a stone of offence to stumble them, and a snare to take them in for their hurt. Christ, as he is Piorum rupes, a rock of refuge to the godly; so he is reorum scopulas, a rock of revenge to dash in pieces the impenitent, as Valerius Maximus once said the tribunal of Lucius Cassius was. This was chiefly fulfilled in the time of the gospel. See Rom 9:23 1Pe 2:6 Mat 21:42 Act 4:11 .
But for a stone of stumbling.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
for a stone of stumbling. Compare 1Pe 2:7, 1Pe 2:8. Luk 20:17. Rom 9:32, Rom 9:33; Rom 11:11.
gin = a trap.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
he shall be: Isa 26:20, Psa 46:1, Psa 46:2, Pro 18:10, Eze 11:16
a stone: Isa 28:16, Luk 2:34, Rom 9:32, Rom 9:33, Rom 11:9-11, Rom 11:35, 1Pe 2:8
a snare: Psa 11:6, Psa 69:22, Mat 13:57, Luk 21:35
Reciprocal: Exo 14:20 – General Jos 10:7 – General Job 18:9 – The gin Psa 9:9 – The Lord Psa 34:9 – fear Psa 90:1 – Lord Psa 91:1 – dwelleth Pro 29:6 – the transgression Isa 4:6 – tabernacle Isa 28:13 – that Jer 6:21 – I will Eze 3:20 – and I lay Zec 3:9 – the stone Mat 11:6 – whosoever Mat 16:23 – thou art Mat 21:44 – whosoever Luk 7:23 – General Luk 20:18 – shall fall Act 19:9 – divers 1Co 1:23 – unto the Jews Gal 5:11 – the offence 1Pe 2:4 – disallowed
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
8:14 And he shall be for a {q} sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a trap and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
(q) He will defend you who are his elect, and reject all the rest, meaning Christ against whom the Jews would stumble and fall, Lu 2:23, Rom 9:33, 1Pe 2:7-8 .
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
This procedure would make God a refuge and a holy place of peace for the prophet. The Israelites generally, however, would not trust God and would, consequently, find that He tripped them up by bringing judgment on them (cf. Mat 21:44; Luk 2:34; Rom 9:33; 1Pe 2:8). He would trap them, eventually leading them into captivity.