Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 9:3
Thou hast multiplied the nation, [and] not increased the joy: they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, [and] as [men] rejoice when they divide the spoil.
3. and not increased the joy ] Lit., “unto it thou hast increased the joy.” L’, “not” and l, “to it,” being pronounced alike, are sometimes confused in the text of the O.T. There is no reason for assuming such a confusion here, and R.V. (“thou hast increased their joy”) rightly adheres to the Massoretic text. But it is still better to adopt a very simple emendation, approved by many expositors ( for ) and translate: Thou hast multiplied the exultation; thou hast increased the joy.
before thee ] as at the festivals in the sanctuary, a phrase often used in Deuteronomy (Deu 12:7, Isa 14:26, &c.).
the joy in harvest ] Psa 4:8; Psa 126:5-6.
as men rejoice when they divide the spoil ] cf. ch. Isa 33:23; Jdg 5:30; Psa 119:162. For “rejoice” read exult.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Thou hast multiplied the nation – Thou hast rendered the nation strong, powerful, mighty. Several interpreters, as Calvin, Vitringa, and Le Clerc, suppose that the prophet here, and in the two following verses, speaks in the first instance of the prosperity near at hand, and of the rapid increase of the Israelites after the return from the Babylonian exile, in which the inhabitants of Galilee must have participated, as may be inferred from the accounts of Josephus respecting the great population of that province in his time; see Jewish Wars, i. 20, 23. Vitringa also directs our attention to the fact, that the Jewish people, after the exile, not only filled Judea, but spread themselves into Egypt, Syria, Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, Greece, and Italy. But there seems to be no necessity for referring it to such an increase of the inhabitants. It may refer to the great increase of the Messiahs kingdom, or of the kingdom which he would set up, and whose commencement would be in Galilee; see Hengstenberg, Christol., vol. i. p. 354.
And not increased the joy – The Masoretes here read in the margin lo to it, instead of lo’ not. Eleven manuscripts, two of them ancient, have this reading. This reading is followed by the Chaldee Paraphrase, the Syriac, and the Arabic. The Septuagint seems also to have so understood it. So also it is in the margin, and so the connection demands; and it is unquestionably the correct reading. It would then read, thou hast increased for it (the nation) the joy. Hengstenberg, however, suggests that the phrase may mean, whose joy thou didst not before enlarge, that is, upon whom thou hast before inflicted heavy sufferings. But this is harsh, and I see no reason to doubt that an error may have crept into the text.
They joy before thee according to the joy of harvest – This is a beautiful figure; and is found frequently in ancient writings. The harvest was a time of exultation and joy, and was commonly gathered amid songs and rejoicings, and concluded with a festival. The phrase before thee refers to the fact that the first-fruits of the harvest among the Hebrews were presented with thanksgiving before God in the temple; Deu 12:7; Deu 14:22-26.
And as men rejoice … – This is also an expression of great joy and rejoicing. Such an occasion, at the close of a battle, when great spoil or plunder had been taken, would be one of great rejoicing; see Jdg 5:30; 1Sa 30:16; 2Ch 20:25-28.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Isa 9:3
Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the Joy
National power and national character
The difference between national power and national character, between the success and the worthiness of a State, is suggested by these words.
Scientific insight shows us that a planet is under the dominion of the law of gravitation precisely as a pebble is; and religious insight leads us to study the life, and estimate the merits and the perils, of an empire in the same light and by the same standards that we should apply to any single person. And so religious insight prevents us from accepting the mere numbers, opulence, prominence, and power of a State as sufficient justification for joy in its existence, just as it forbids us to acknowledge such tests for private persons. If a man is a sensualist, a knave, a gambler, or a ruffian, no honest mind thinks of praising him because he is strong limbed and in florid health, because he lives in a handsome house, is worth a million, and adds largely every year to his meadows and park. These splendid circumstances only furnish a pedestal for a piece of incarnate depravity to make its vileness conspicuous and repulsive. And a nation may be vigorous in physical health, and may be gaining thus, while it is going backward and downward in character. The noble elements which a nation embodies and represents, and which gleam as expressions upon the lineaments which its countenance will wear in history, constitute its glory. Mere numbers, as of the Chinese, Hindoos, or Turks, awaken no satisfaction in the competent student. The brawny energy that tugs at the conquest of nature; that pushes out pioneers whose axes mow the wilderness, and whose ploughs furrow the prairies; that quarries counties for coal, and tames the torrents for its wheels, and makes the air over wide longitudes buzz with furious and cunning mechanism,–this, in contrast with lazy content or nerveless beggary, properly awakens joy in the aspect of a nation. And when, out of this groundwork of enthusiastic strength, an intellectual force is born that dots the land with schools which lead up to academies, and in turn are crowned with colleges, from which literatures blossom and shed the fragrance of culture and poetry in the social air, there is new and higher call for satisfaction and gratitude. And if a religious spirit presses for utterance out of the widening life of the State, so that churches grow as naturally from its soil as courtrooms, capitols, and schools; and if the religion of the people, instead of being a selfish commerce with Infinite power for private insurance against suspected peril, is a reverent and glad recognition of the Infinite mind as the source of truth, and the Infinite heart as unspeakable love, so that, if poverty begins to border the general plenty, the national genius turns to study for the wisest relief of it by the quick impulse of duty, and when vice and crime burst to the surface the conscience of the State is moved as quickly to devise cures as to build prisons; then a spectacle is seen grander than any miracle of genius, any individual heroism, any personal sanctity; for then a nation stands out with intellect on its forehead, chivalry in its carriage, and Christianity in its heart. (T. Starr King.)
They Joy before Thee according to the Joy in harvest
Joy in harvest
We may look upon the words of our text as a kind of double picture set in a single frame, so that its component parts may be contrasted as well as compared together. On one side is placed before us a merry harvest scene–just like what you might see going on in many a smiling cornfield of this happy English land. On the other side is depicted the confused noise of battle, and warriors with garments rolled in blood, exulting in that fierce joy which foemen feel in prospect of hard earned victory. Gradually the tumult passes on, and the ground is strewn with the dead and dying, with here and there a broken chariot and many a shivered spear. And then the camp followers issue forth to strip the slain, and to carry off the spoil to their tents until the pursuers shall return, when it shall be divided share and share to every man with boisterous mirth and songs of revelry. You will see, therefore, that our attention is directed first of all to the joy of harvest–mans triumph in the labours of the field. And then we can almost fancy that we hear the ringing shout of victory as the battle sweeps across the plain. Dissimilar though such things may be, yet there is more than one connecting link between them. For peace hath her victories no less renowned than war. We might even say that they are more real, more complete, more generally shared in. The rejoicing after some successful campaign is often loud and great; the news comes in, the cities are illuminated, the joy bells are rung, the excitement is intense, and outwardly there is every appearance of extreme delight; but it is only a one-sided gratification after all. For many feel, alas! how keenly, that the victory has been purchased at the cost of many a valued life, and that warfare is always accompanied by desolation, and mourning, and woe. But in harvest joy this is not the case. Here we have an unmingled glad mess; especially in a year when the crops are reported from all quarters to be unusually good–the triumphant result of toil and industry rewarded by the fruits of the ground. (E. Bell.)
Harvest joy among the Jews
To a commercial people the expression is not so significant as it would be to a Jew. The Jews were essentially an agricultural people. God did not encourage them to trade with surrounding nations, lest they should fall into idolatry; and so we find that they were not a manufacturing community, and, except in the time of Solomon, they made no pretensions to a navy. The arts and sciences were but little cultivated; but the fields and vineyards gave them abundant occupation, and the soil and climate were favourable to the growth of the corn and the vine. God took special interest in their agricultural pursuits. He laid down minute laws respecting sowing and gleaning, and He reminded the people in the feasts which He appointed that they were dependent on Him for the gift of food, and should receive it with a devout and thankful heart. It has been well observed respecting the three chief Jewish festivals that one opened the harvest, the second marked a stage in it, and the third closed it.
Joy occupied an important place in the religion of the Jews; and never, I suppose, was it so loud in its expression as at the Feast of Tabernacles, when they looked upon their full granaries, and brought in the last clusters of their fruitful vines. (F. J. Austin.)
Harvest joy
Christian people should be characterised by joy. While rejoicing on account of our spiritual blessings, we ought not to be indifferent to our daily temporal blessings.
I. THE NATURE OF THIS JOY. Joy in harvest is–
1. A reasonable joy. The prosperity of a nation depends very largely upon the character of its harvests; and, therefore, it is most natural that when the harvest is plenteous, our praise should ascend to God the Father, from whom this, even more directly than many blessings, has surely come. We have been taught to pray: Give us this day our daily bread. If we thus recognise our dependence on God, is it not fitting that we should thank Him when He answers our prayer? Consider what would be the result of a complete failure of our crops for one year, notwithstanding that the balance might be restored, to some extent, from foreign lands. Or, consider what would be the result if there were failure in those countries from which we could draw our supplies.
2. A universal joy–a joy in which all sections of the Christian Church, all classes of the community, all nations and races may unite together. There are some occasions for joy which only affect small and select circles. But a good harvest hurts no one, and brings blessings to all. And surely anything that tends to soften prejudices, annihilate differences, break down the barriers of caste and sect is a national boon.
3. A holy joy. They joy before Thee, says the prophet, according to the joy in harvest. Among the Jews, joy in harvest was an act of worship. The first fruits were presented before the Lord with thanksgiving. And the joy of harvest should be regarded by us as a religious festival. Agriculture, more than any other branch of human industry, is seen to be under the superintendence of God. To rejoice in a good harvest, therefore, and to forget the Being to whom we owe it, would be an act of impiety.
II. THE GROUNDS OF THIS JOY. A bountiful harvest is–
1. A sign of Gods activity. Very beautiful is the harvest festival hymn which David wrote and sang. Everything is there attributed to Divine agency (Psa 65:9-13). Now, we are apt to forget sometimes how much we really owe to God. We talk of the laws of nature until we seem to lose sight of the Law maker. It is easy to say that the corn grows. But what is growth? It is, as one has described it, the increase of a living body according to a fixed pattern, and by materials derived from without–materials changed into its own substance or substances. Here, then, are three wonders–the power of absorbing fresh materials from the earth and air; the power of changing them into living and vegetable substance, and the power of arranging these new materials according to a fixed pattern. But how does all this come to pass? Has the plant a mind? The more we reflect, the stronger is the conviction that there is some intelligent, powerful agent at work, to whom all nature is subject, and whose will it readily obeys. And for whom does God make this yearly provision of golden grain? For us who so constantly forget Him, and who, at best, serve Him in a half-hearted way.
2. A proof of Gods fidelity. Once, long ago, God gave a promise Gen 8:21-22). On the strength of that promise the farmer sows his seed. He may not always think of the promise. But it is, nevertheless, in accordance with this promise that his crops arrive at maturity. He must sow in faith, whether it be a blind faith or an intelligent faith. He can only fulfil certain rules and conditions. And when he has done this he must wait. If the rain does not fall he cannot bring it down. If the sun shines too powerfully he cannot ward off its scorching rays. But he is in the hands of a faithful God; and though here and there the fields may not look very promising, and in some districts there may be occasional scarcity, the harvest is always plentiful in some regions, and we are thus able to assist each other and ward offer mitigate human suffering and distress. Let us remember–
(1) That Gods faithfulness in providing for our physical necessities is only an illustration of His general character.
(2) Every Christian is a husbandman. But, as in sowing corn, we have to work in faith and sometimes with sore discouragement. It was so with Christ. But we have promises, and upon these we must rest.
(3) There is a grand harvest day approaching, when we shall have abundant evidence of the faithfulness of our God; and though there is a dark side to that picture, which we dare not conceal, we must not overlook the bright side, which is as plainly revealed The harvest is the end of the world. The reapers are the angels. Then shall He say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into My barn. What an ingathering of souls will be then! Oh, happy day! when those that sowed and those that reaped shall rejoice together. Oh, happy day! when much of the seed which we feared was lost shall prove to have been good and fruit bearing. (F. J. Austin.)
The analogy between the joy of harvest and spiritual joy
I. THE HARVEST.
1. Its import. Seasonable gathering of fruits yielded by the earth, according to established natural laws–fruits of the field, orchard, vineyard, or the garden.
2. Its antiquity. It began with the dawn of created life. It is older than any human form of government, and it has the charm of having existed anterior to the division of humanity into tribes and nations, and before the formation of any landed estates. It is one of natures first bonds to assure every living creature the right of existence.
3. Its universality. It is the heritage of all countries, according to their climates.
4. Its constancy. It is as firm from age to age as the Word of God, and an infallible witness to His faithfulness, as well as to the plenitude of His goodness.
II. THE JOY OF CHRIST. The harvest songs are no pretence without reality.
1. Its intensity. Joy of harvest signifies great joy.
2. Its reasonableness. It is grounded on realised goodness.
3. It is grounded on realised goodness in abundance.
III. THE ANALOGY BETWEEN THE JOY OF HARVEST AND THE JOY WHICH SPRINGS FROM FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD.
1. Both are Gods gifts.
2. Both are sequels of human industry.
3. Both are teachers of impressive moral lessons.
(1) The goodness of God in providence and grace.
(2) The continual duty of gratitude.
(3) The real dignity of labour.
(4) The wisdom of looking for and hasting to the heavenly harvest home.
4. They differ in that one is temporal and the other eternal in its duration. Joy centred in God will never end. (Homilist.)
The joy in harvest
The joy in harvest is the joy of the reward, the joy of victory.
I. THE REWARD OF LABOUR. God gives us comparatively few things ready for use. The world is much more like a manufactory than a storehouse of ready made goods. God gives us the raw material, but we must work it up into the manifold forms in which we require it for the purposes of life. God does not give us bread, but the possibility of bread. Even so God gives His Word, not as life, but as the possibility of life. The seed stored in a cellar, though it has in it the possibility of life for a city, is valueless until it is sown broadcast in the fields; and the Word of God, though it has in it the promise of life eternal for the whole world, may be concealed in a convent cell or buried in a dead language, whilst all around the souls of men are perishing for lack of knowledge. Man lives by bread, but not by bread alone. As there is a life which bread sustains, so there is a life which truth sustains. To sow the truth, to prepare for its harvest, is as truly to save spiritual life as the sowing of corn in its season is the saving of natural life. Every man is a sower, and every man in due season shall be a reaper. Whatsoever a man soweth, etc. Is not this the solemn lesson of the harvest time, that he who would reap hereafter must sow now, that he who would rest hereafter must work now?
II. THE REWARD OF PATIENCE. If the earthly husbandman has need of long patience, how mush longer patience does he need who seeks a spiritual harvest! The corn of wheat grows slowly, but Gods truth grows more slowly still. What are the uncertainties of the changeful skies compared with the uncertainties of the changeful human life! Yet if he will let patience have her perfect work he shall have no need to complain of his harvest.
III. THE REWARD OF FAITH. Faith and patience always go together. The man who believes can wait. When a child puts seed into the ground, he does so without any of that strong conviction of its vital power which experience has given to his father, and so from want of faith in the seed he appeals to sight, and digs it up to see how it is getting on. There are many older children who make a similar mistake as to spiritual sowing. The Gospel sower must have faith in his seed. We cannot feel too strongly the truth that the power lies in the seed, not in the sower. This is as true in the Church as it is in the cornfield. (A. E. Gregory.)
Christian joy
I. THE FACT OF THEIR JOY. They joy. Who? Those who, embracing the light of the Gospel, and renouncing the hidden works of darkness, are made the children of the light and of the day.
1. It is Divine in its nature. The joy of the men of the world, however diversified it may be, has its spring and source in the world. The joy of the ambitious has its rise in the pride of the world. The joy of the miser has its spring in the riches of the world. The joy of the sensualist is derived from the pleasures of the world. But believers are taught better.
2. It is extensive in its grounds. God–their Christian privileges–their Christian principles–their Christian prospects,
3. Salutary in its effects. Its tendency is good.
II. THE PECULIARITY OF THEIR JOY. Before Thee. This is an expressive term and intimates several things.
1. It is spiritual It is a joyful state of mind, connected with that Divine Being who is a Spirit. Every exercise of the mind that unites us to Him must be spiritual.
2. It is sincere. The Christians joy is real, not imaginary. It will bear inspection.
3. It is secret. As the world knows not the extent of our sorrows, so it is unacquainted with the abundance of our joys.
III. THE RESEMBLANCE OF THEIR JOY. To what may it be likened? The sacred writers have used various similitudes. It may be compared to the joy of the captive, released from bondage; to the joy of a patient, after his recovery from a severe illness; to the joy of a mariner, after a storm. Two figures are here employed to set forth the Christians joy–
1. The husbandman in the field of harvest. According to the joy of harvest.
(1) It is a joy that results from labour.
(2) Connected with anxiety.
(3) Requires patience.
2. The soldier in the field of battle.
Conclusion–This subject gives as a view of two things with regard to Christianity.
1. Its requirements. It is no easy thing. There is much to be done and suffered.
2. Its rewards. These are inestimable. Present and future–exceeding description and baffling conception. (E. Temple.)
Harvest joy
To some minds, and to all of us, perhaps, in some moods, autumn brings gloom, harvest sadness; but to others autumn brings rest–harvest, joy.
(1) There is a joy in the harvest of agriculture.
(2) In the harvest of commerce. Such is the often honest joy of the man who, after years of industry or enterprise, feels that he has realised a fortune, abundant in its provision for himself and his dear ones.
(3) In the harvest of literature. As when, after the toils of intellectual endeavour, the mind is at home amongst the fairy tales of science, and the long results of time.
(4) There is a harvest of love, when parents rejoice over the maturity of filial affection; when friends approach the completeness of intelligent and sympathetic communion.
(5) In the harvest of religion. In personal experience it is a glad some thing to reach the autumn of faith, resignation, peace, after the earlier seasons of doubt, murmur, tumult. In Christian activities it is wondrous happiness to reap the results of sorrowing, anxious sowing in enlightened, comforted, and converted souls.
I. WHAT IS THE ESSENCE OF THE JOY IN HARVEST? Is not the cause of joy the same in all these instances? For there is–
1. Joyful retrospect.
2. Joyful anticipation.
II. WHAT IS THE MEASURE OF THE JOY IN HARVEST? Do not two things regulate the measure of the joy that any feel, in any harvest?
1. The amount of its cost. The wheat field on which the farmer has expended most will be the one whose yield will the most interest him. So is it in every kind of harvesting, and so especially in what are distinctively the harvests of religion. In our own personal experience we value most in reaping that which has cost us most. The creed that we have fought out against doubts and difficulties, is inestimably more precious to us than that which has been handed down and adopted as a matter of course. The character which is pure after battle with impurity, sacrificial after contact with selfishness, peaceful after provocations to revenge and anger, is of far greater moral worth than that which has been seldom or feebly assailed. In our work for others, those results on which we have spent most time and thought and prayer are dearest to us. Harvest is valuable according to–
2. Its intrinsic value. In our English harvest homes there is rejoicing because of the intrinsic value of the wheat that is reaped and garnered. This is so because of–
(1) Its necessariness. So ever the most joyful harvest will be the obtaining the greatest necessary. What is that! Is it mere wheat, or wealth, or learning, or even human love? No, a thousand times, no, for a man can be without food, or gold, or earthly knowledge, or human love, and yet live. A mans life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. Religion is the greatest necessary. Christ is the Bread of Life. A harvest is of worth according to–
(2) Its sufficiency. The results of an abundant corn harvest last on until, and even past, another harvest tide. Through successive seasons its bounties are being enjoyed. Because thus the permanence of the result of harvest is one measure of its value, the harvest of knowledge is worth far more than the harvest of gain, and that of religion most of all. Its ingatherings are treasures in heaven, which neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.
Two conclusions arise–
1. We ought to have some of the joy in harvest now. With souls it is not in every respect as with the soil For in them some sowing and reaping, dropping in of seed, and quickening of germ, springing of one blade of promise, and reaping of another harvest of result, go on contemporaneously.
2. We must have joy or sorrow in harvest by and by. There will be unmistakable, unavoidable harvest with us all soon. The harvest is the end of the world; the reapers are the angels. In solemn expectation of that harvest let us remember–
(1) We shall reap what we sow.
(2) We shall reap more than we sow. What an unparalleled, almost infinite, contrast between the grain carried from the field in harvest, to that which had been deposited there in the seed time.
(3) We shall reap as we sow. He that soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; but he that soweth bountifully shall reap bountifully. Be careless in sowing, and you will be ashamed in reaping. (U. R. Thomas, B. A.)
The joy of harvest
This joy is used as a picture of the joy God designs for His Church.
I. OBSERVE A GREAT PRINCIPLE IN THE WORDS BEFORE THEE. All true joy is before God–in His presence–with conscious reference to Him.
1. One use of harvest thanksgivings is to bring out this principle, to connect the gift of the harvest with the Giver.
2. All the joy of life is to be sanctified in the same way. Make it be joy before God. Let it be deepened, purified, ennobled by the thought of the love that gave it, and the presence and sympathy of the Giver.
3. We learn from the same principle the limit of innocent joy. It must be before God. Can you connect your pleasure with Him? Use this as a test.
II. THE PURPOSE OF GOD IS THAT HIS PEOPLE SHOULD HAVE JOY, DEEP, FULL, SATISFYING. You wish to be happy. God wishes it infinitely more than you do.
1. Are you happy? Yes? Because you have health, comforts, etc.? Is this all! Poor joy! Enough for animals, but not for immortal spirits. Not like the joy of harvest; no rest in it, no noble achievement, no permanence. God is not satisfied with this JOY for you.
2. Are you happy? No? Wishes unfulfilled, cares, bereavements, dissatisfaction with self, yam endeavours after goodness, sense of guilt, etc.? Your Saviour knows your sorrows, offers you joy.
3. Purpose accomplished in the final harvest. Joy before Him; the rest; the well done; the evermore. (F. Wynne, M. A.)
The joy of spiritual ingathering
I. It is the JOY OF REALISATION. Harvest is the realisation of faith, of hope, and of labour. So with the conversion of souls.
II. It is the JOY OF CONGRATULATION. Let us congratulate one another that the Spirit of God is with us. Let us congratulate one another that our prayers, notwithstanding all the faults that mar them, and the infirmities that cleave to them, are being heard.
III. It is the JOY OF GRATITUDE. I envy not the man who can see the Church increased and yet not feel a sacred home felt joy.
IV. It is the JOY OF SYMPATHY.
V. And may I not ask you to REJOICE BECAUSE THERE IS ONE WHO LOVES SOULS better than I do, better than you do, who rejoices more than any of us? (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The joy of harvest
I. WHAT IS THE JOY OF HARVEST, which is here taken as the simile of the joy of the saints before God?
1. Sometimes the farmer only rejoices because he sees the reward of his toils, and is so much the richer man.
2. The joy of harvest has another element in it, namely, that of gratitude to God for favours bestowed.
3. To the Christian it should be great joy, by means of the harvest, to receive an assurance of Gods faithfulness.
4. To the Christian, in the joy of harvest, there will always be the joy of expectation. As there is a harvest to the husbandman for which he waiteth patiently, so there is a harvest for all faithful waiters who are looking for the appearing of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Our joy of harvest is the hope of being at rest with all the saints, and forever with the Lord.
II. WHAT JOYS ARE THOSE WHICH TO THE BELIEVER ARE AS THE JOY OF HARVEST?
1. One of the first seasons in which we knew a joy equal to the joy of harvest,–a season which has continued with us ever since it commenced–was, when we found the Saviour, and so obtained salvation. Nohusbandman ever shouted for joy as our hearts should when a precious Christ was ours, and we could grasp Him with full assurance of salvation in Him. The joy of harvest generally shows itself by the farmer giving a feast to his friends and neighbours; and, usually, those who find Christ express their joy by telling their friends and neighbours how great things the Lord hath done for them.
2. It is the joy of answered prayer.
3. We have another joy of harvest in ourselves when we conquer a temptation. Those know deep joy who have felt bitter sorrow. As the man feels that he is the stronger for the conflict, as he feels that he has gathered experience and stronger faith from having passed through the trial, he lifts up his heart, and rejoices, not in himself, but before his God, with the joy of harvest.
4. Again, there is such a thing as the joy of harvest when we have been rendered useful.
5. Another delight which is as the joy of harvest is, fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Our condition matters nothing to us if Christ be with us. (C. H.Spurgeon.)
The joy in harvest
Is a joy–
I. FOR HOPES FULFILLED. In the midst of all his anxieties the farmer had never abandoned hope. His fears were ended and his hopes realised, when the last sheaf was gathered into his garner. Thus the Christian, who has throughout his pilgrimage gone on through fears and doubts and infirmities, yet still cheered by hope, shall stand before his Saviour at the great morning of the resurrection.
II. FOR LABOUR REPAID. No matter how abundant the crop may be, so long as it stands in the field it is unprofitable to the farmer. But, when he looks at his well-filled barns, he feels that his labour has not been in vain. If this be true respecting the things of time, how much more with respect to those of eternity. The Christians labour here is a labour of self-denial in hope of future glory. It is true that he has not the same uncertainty with respect to futurity which characterises the labours of the husband man. But, when the conflict is at last over, and he receives that for the sake of which he had renounced all earthly objects and lusts, and finds that his labour has not been in vain in the Lord, he joys before Him with the joy of harvest.
III. FOR REST OBTAINED. The farmers year had been a year of labour, and often of very severe labour too; and when the period of harvest had commenced, his exertions were necessarily redoubled. At length, however, his heavy toil was for a season ended, and in that rest which is doubly sweet after labour, he joys according to the joy in harvest. The rest of the husbandman is but for a time, and a short time, but the rest of the Christian shall be eternal. He has had his time of labour, such as far to exceed in its constancy and its steadfastness that of the husbandman.
IV. FOR PROVIDENCES COMPLETED. Notwithstanding all the care of the husbandman, he is constrained, from time to time, to acknowledge that the entire process of the growth and ripening of the corn has depended on circumstances over which he has had no control Had he been left to dispose of the seasons as he might have thought right, he would, in all probability, have destroyed his crop. Many a time had he complained that the frosts were too severe, the rain too heavy, the wind too strong, the sun too hot–measuring the goodness of the all-wise God by his own limited understanding. But now he admits that his fears were groundless, and that all things have worked together for good. May we not in this picture see the progress of the Christian whilst he is the object of Divine Providence here on earth; whilst, now sorrowing and now rejoicing, he is ready to murmur at every salutary check which he receives from the head of a Heavenly Father? But at the harvest time the God who hideth Himself shall he made manifest as having caused all these things to work for His own glory in the good of His people.
V. FOR PROMISES FULFILLED. The husbandman has one promise whose fulfilment gladdens him, the Christian has thousands.
VI. FOR MEETING WITH FRIENDS. Now the harvest home is proclaimed, and friends long absent meet together. We go to meet the friends whom we have known and loved in the Lord. And in this meeting with the dearest objects of the affections of the Christians soul, there is One whom having not seen, we love; Him, we shall then meet and know, even as we are known. If then these be the joys in harvest, how desirable it is that we should examine whether we are such as shall partake of them. Let me briefly call your attention to the character of those who shall partake of this joy.
1. The ignorant, self-conceited husbandman, who neither knows how or what to sow nor when to reap, shall not have the joy in harvest.
2. Nor is there joy in harvest to the slothful.
3. And should we see anyone who laboured as though it were his design to make his land barren and unproductive we should at once declare him mad, and predict that beggary and starvation must be the inevitable lot of himself and his family.
4. Those who are indeed preparing for that great harvest are those who are applying to heavenly things the same diligence, the same care, the same watchfulness, and the same energy which the husbandman applies to this earthly tillage. (R. M. Kyle, B. A.)
Harvest joy, and how we may share in it
The idea of national prosperity being dependent on agricultural prosperity, true as applied to Israel, is really universally true. There may be many an industry that brings more wealth to a nation in the shape of money–as the coal industry, the iron industry, the shipping industry–but the primal industry is the agricultural industry. Moreover, the profit of the earth is for all; the king himself is served by the field, says the writer of Ecclesiastes, thereby giving expression to the eternal truth that all wealth comes ultimately from the soil; even the king himself is not independent of it. One cannot help rejoicing over the ingathering of the harvest, for nature itself seems musical with joy. The valleys are covered over with corn; they shout for joy, they also sing. This joy is–
I. THE JOY OF PROVISION SECURED. We can joy before the Lord–not before the world, for that would mean pride; nor before ourselves, for that would mean selfishness; but before the Lord, for that means thankfulness over provision secured. There is nothing meaner than to boast of ones prosperity before the world, or before ones own heart; but we can derive joy from it before the Lord, for the Lord means us to rejoice in all His gifts–material as well as spiritual.
II. THE JOY OF PATIENCE REWARDED.
III. THE JOY OF LABOUR REQUITED. What kind of harvest is your life to have? (J. Mackie, B. D.)
The joy of harvest
Harvest crowns the year with Gods goodness. When the harvest is abundant there is universal joy. Everybody rejoices. The owner of the land is glad, because he sees the recompense of reward; the labourers are glad, for they see the fruit of their toil; even those to whom not a single ear may belong nevertheless sympathise in the common joy, because a rich harvest is a boon to all the nation. It is a joyous sight to see the last loaded wain come creaking down the village road, to note the youngsters who shout so loudly, yet know so little what they are shouting about, to mark the peasant on the top of the wain as he waves his hat and gives vent to some gleeful exclamation, and to see them taking it all into the stack or barn. There is joy throughout the village, there is joy throughout the land, when the harvest time is come. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Harvest rejoicing among the Jews
It was a common saying of the Rabbis that he who had not seen the rejoicing of the people at that glad time had yet to learn what true joy was. (J. Mackie, B. D.)
The joy of finding the Saviour
My heart was fallow, and covered with weeds; but on a certain day the great Husbandman came and began to plough my soul. Ten black horses were His team, and it was a sharp ploughshare that He used, and the ploughers made deep furrows. The Ten Commandments were those black horses, and the justice of God, like a ploughshare, tore my spirit. I was condemned, undone, destroyed, lost, helpless, hopeless,–I thought hell was before me. Then there came a cross ploughing, for when I went to hear the Gospel it did not comfort me; it made me wish I had a part in it, but I feared that such a boon was out of the question. The choicest promises of God frowned at me, and His threatenings thundered at me. I prayed, but found no answer of peace. It was long with me thus. After the ploughing came the sowing. God who ploughed the heart made it conscious that it needed the Gospel, and the Gospel seed was joyfully received. Do you recollect that auspicious day when at last you began to have some little hope? It was very little–like a green blade that peeps up from the soil: you scarce knew whether it was grass or corn, whether it was presumption or true faith. It was a little hope, but it grew very pleasantly. Alas, a frost of doubt came; snow of fear fell; cold winds of despondency blew on you, and you said, There can be no hope for me. But what a glorious day was that when at last the wheat which God had sown ripened, and you could say, I have looked unto Him and have been lightened: I have laid my sins on Jesus, where God laid them of old, and they are taken away, and I am saved. I remember well that day. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The icy of spiritual ingathering
I cannot help being egotistical enough to mention the joy I felt when first I heard that a soul had found peace through my youthful ministry. I had been preaching in a village some few Sabbaths with an increasing congregation, but I had not heard of a conversion, and I thought, Perhaps I am not called of God. He does not mean me to preach, for if He did He would give me spiritual children. One Sabbath my good deacon said, Dont be discouraged. A poor woman was savingly impressed last Sabbath. How long do you suppose it was before I saw that woman? It was just as long as it took me to reach her cottage. I was eager to hear from her own lips whether it was a work of Gods grace or not. I always looked upon her with interest, though only a poor labourers wife, till she was taken away to heaven, after having lived a holy life. Many since then have I rejoiced over in the Lord, but that first seal to my ministry was peculiarly dear to me. It gave me a sip of the joy of harvest. If somebody had left me a fortune it would not have caused me one hundredth part of the delight I had in discovering that a soul had been led to the Saviour. I am sure Christian people who have not this joy have missed one of the choicest delights that a believer can know this side heaven. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Joy of realisation
Dickens describes how he dropped his first published paper stealthily one evening at twilight, with fear and trembling, into a dark letter box up a dark court in Fleet Street: and his agitation when it appeared in all the glory of print. On which occasion I walked down to Westminster Hall, and turned into it for half an hour, because my eyes were so dimmed with joy and pride, that they could not bear the street, and were not fit to be seen there. (H. O. Mackey.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 3. And not increased the joy – “Thou hast increased their joy”] Eleven MSS. of Kennicott’s and six of De Rossi’s, two ancient, read lo, it, according to the Masoretical correction, instead of lo, not. To the same purpose the Targum and Syriac.
The joy in harvest] kesimchath bakkatsir. For bakkatsir one MS. of Kennicott’s and one of De Rossi’s have katsir, and another hakkatsir, “the harvest;” one of which seems to be the true, reading, as the noun preceding is in regimine.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Thou hast multiplied the nation; thou hast made good thy promise to Abraham concerning the multiplication of his seed, Gen 15:5; 22:17, by adding his spiritual seed unto the carnal, by gathering in the Gentiles to the Jews, and making them both one people in Christ, Joh 10:16; Eph 2:14, &c. For in Scripture account the believing Gentiles are the seed of Abraham as well as the Jews; of which see Gal 3:7-9. Or,
thou hast magnified the nation; honoured them with peculiar privileges above all other nations, and especially with this transcendent privilege, that the Messiah and Saviour of the world should be born of them, and live among them; of which he speaks more fully Isa 9:6,7.
And not increased the joy; or, yet not increased their joy; which might very truly and fitly be said of the Jewish nation upon this occasion, partly because they did not rejoice in the conversion of the Gentiles, as they should have done, but murmured, and grieved, and stumbled at it; and partly because, through their perverseness and unbelief, that would be unto them an occasion of their utter ruin, the conversion of the Gentiles being attended with the rejection of the Jews. But because this translation seems not to agree with the following words, which ascribe great joy to them, some render the words otherwise; either thus, and
wilt thou not increase their joy? to which question the next words give an affirmative answer. So the Hebrew particle lo is put interrogatively for halo, as it is in many other places, which I have formerly observed. Or thus, and hast increased to it, or him, or them (to that nation) their joy. For though the Hebrew lo be written like an adverb, yet it may be read like a pronoun, as it is both by Jewish and Christian interpreters acknowledged to be in many places; of which see more in my Latin Synopsis.
They joy before thee; in thy presence, and in the place of thy worship; not with a carnal and worldly, but with a spiritual and religious joy, giving thee the praise and glory of all thy favours afforded to them.
According to the joy in harvest; when men receive with great joy that for which they have laboured much and long waited. See Psa 126:5,6.
When they divide the spoil; when, after a bloody fight, and a glorious victory, they come to take the spoil.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
3. multiplied . . .nationprimarily, the rapid increase of Israelites afterthe return from Babylon; more fully and exhaustively the rapid spreadof Christianity at first.
not increased the joyBya slight change in the Hebrew, its (joy) is substituted bysome for not, because “not increased the joy” seemsopposite to what immediately follows, “the joy,” c.HENGSTENBERG, retains notthus: “Whose joy thou hadst not increased,” (that is, hadstdiminished). Others, “Hast thou not increased the joy?”The very difficulty of the reading, not, makes it less likelyto be an interpolation. HORSLEYbest explains it: The prophet sees in vision a shifting scene,comprehending at one glance the history of the Christian Church toremotest timesa land dark and thinly peopledlit up by a suddenlightfilled with new inhabitantsthen struggling withdifficulties, and again delivered by the utter and final overthrow oftheir enemies. The influx of Gentile converts (represented here by”Galilee of the Gentiles”) soon was to be followed by thegrowth of corruption, and the final rise of Antichrist, who is to bedestroyed, while God’s people is delivered, as in the case ofGideon’s victory over Midian, not by man’s prowess, but by thespecial interposition of God.
before theea phrasetaken from sacrificial feasts the tithe of harvest was eaten beforeGod (Deu 12:7; Deu 14:26).
as men rejoice . . . divide .. . spoilreferring to the judgments on the enemies of the Lordand His people, which usually accompany revelations of His grace.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Thou hast multiplied the nation,…. With light, knowledge, honour, and glory, even Galilee of the nations before mentioned, the land of darkness, and of the shadow of death, where the people dwelt; on whom Christ, the light, shone in the ministration of his Gospel to them; whereby the number of believers in Christ were multiplied; and indeed, as he conversed, preached, and wrought his miracles most here, he had here the greatest number of disciples and followers; here were the five hundred brethren by whom he was seen at once, after his resurrection, 1Co 15:6 for this is not to be understood of the Assyrian nation, whose army under Sennacherib was very large; nor of the Jewish nation enlarged by the destruction of that army, or of their increase after their return from the Babylonish captivity; nor of the church of God by the accession of Gentiles to it; but of the land or nation before spoken of:
[and] not increased the joy; or rather, as it should be rendered, “and hast increased joy unto it”; following the Keri; or marginal reading, which directs that it should be read, not as a negative,
“not”, but , “to it”; and which is followed by the Targum and Syriac version, and by Jarchi, Aben Ezra, and Kimchi, and others; and the sense of the words requires this reading, since it follows,
they joy before thee; or otherwise there would be a manifest contradiction in the text; though some, to avoid it, read the words interrogatively, “hast thou not increased the joy?” thou hast; and in this way both the Keri and the Cetib, the reading and the writing, may be taken in, “hast thou not increased joy unto it?” and so as Gussetius i renders it,
“thou hast multiplied the nation to whom thou hadst not given great joy:”
that is, temporal joy; though now much of that which is of a spiritual kind: Christ the light appearing, his Gospel being preached by him, and his apostles, and many believing in him, occasioned an increase of spiritual joy in those parts; and so it is, that wherever the Gospel comes, and Christ is preached, and souls are converted, there is great joy, Ac 8:6 where there is any grace of the Spirit, as faith, hope, and love, there is joy; and particularly when a soul is enlightened and quickened, as in the preceding verse Isa 9:2, it rejoices, reflecting on the state of darkness and death it is brought out of, and on the marvellous light, life, and liberty it is brought into; and at a sight of Christ, his person, offices, relations, and grace, as the sun of righteousness, with healing in his wings, and beaming light, salvation, and happiness; which joy is spiritual, internal, passes knowledge, is imperfect, but capable of being increased:
they joy before thee; the words, both in this and in the preceding clauses, are addressed to God, and show, that as the work of conversion, and an increase of spiritual joy, are from him; so that joy that is given by hint is expressed “before” him, in his house and ordinances, and it is in his sight, before whom all things are manifest; and so it denotes the truth and sincerity of it, which is illustrated by the following metaphors:
according to the joy in harvest; such as is expressed by men in harvest time, both by the rich owners and proprietors, when they have a good harvest, and well got in, and by the poor, who have a prospect of a comfortable supply in a cheap manner; and this simile is used with great propriety and pertinence. Christ and his ministers are sowers of seed, of the word; and hearers of the word are compared to seed sown in different places; and when any number of these are converted, it is a harvest which occasions joy. The Targum is,
“as the joy of conquerors in war;”
which agrees with what follows:
[and] as [men] rejoice when they divide the spoil; taken in war: in redemption, Christ has taken the prey from the mighty, and delivered the lawful captive, and has divided the spoil with the strong; and in effectual calling binds the strong man armed, and spoils his goods, and delivers souls out of his hands, and this is matter of great joy,
Isa 53:12 see Ps 119:162.
i Ebr. Comment. p. 423.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
In Isa 9:3 he says, in words of thanksgiving and praise: “Thou multipliest the nation, preparest it great joy; they rejoice before Thee like the joy in harvest, as men rejoice when they share the spoil.” “The nation” ( haggoi ) is undoubtedly Israel, reduced to a small remnant. That God would make this again into a numerous people, was a leading feature in the pictures drawn of the time of glory (Isa 26:15; Isa 66:8; Zec 14:10-11), which would be in this respect the counterpart of that of Solomon (1Ki 4:20). If our explanation is the correct one so far, the only way to give an intelligible meaning to the chethib , taking it in a negative sense, is to render it, as Hengstenberg, Hitzig, and others have done, “Thou multipliest the nation to which Thou hadst formerly not given great joy,” which must signify, per litoten , “the nation which Thou hadst plunged into deep sorrow.” But it is unnatural to take any one of the prophetic preterites, commencing with hicbd in Isa 9:1, in any other than a future sense. We must therefore give the preference to the Keri , and render it, “Thou makest of the nation a great multitude, and preparest it great joy.” The pronoun loo is written first, as in Lev 7:7-9; Job 41:4 ( keri), probably with the emphasis assumed by Drechsler: “to it, in which there was not the smallest indication of such an issue as this.” The verbs “multiplied” ( higdalta ) and “increased” ( hirbitha ) are intentionally written together, to put the intensity of the joy on a level with the extensiveness of the multitude. This joy would be a holy joy, as the expression “before Thee” implies: the expression itself recals the sacrificial meals in the courts of the temple (Deu 12:7; Deu 14:26). It would be a joy over blessings received, as the figure of the harvest indicates; and joy over evil averted, as the figure of dividing the spoil presupposes: for the division of booty is the business of conquerors. This second figure is not merely a figure: the people that are so joyous are really victorious and triumphant.
(Note: On the passages in which chethib is keri, see at Psa 100:3 and Job 13:15.)
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
3. Thou hast multiplied. This passage is somewhat obscure, both in itself, and on account of the diversity of interpretations; for it appears to be absurd to say that the joy was not increased, seeing that he immediately afterwards adds, they rejoiced. On this account the Jews interpret לא ( lo) not negatively, but as if ו ( vau) had been substituted for א ( aleph); for sometimes, though rarely, it has this meaning in the Scriptures. (141) (Exo 21:8.) The Jews do this, because they cannot reconcile the words of the Prophet with their opinion. Again, some view these words as referring to Sennacherib, because his army, though it was large, brought him no ground of joy, but rather of grief. (2Kg 19:35.) Others explain it as relating to the Church, and justly, but mistake the method of applying it; for they think that the Prophet said this because believers, as long as they live, are subject to numerous and diversified afflictions. Others go still farther from the point, by saying that the conversion of the Gentiles, which will enlarge the Church, will not bring joy to the Jews and the ancient synagogue.
But I cannot approve of any of those interpretations, and therefore I interpret it in this manner. As the Prophet, in the beginning of the chapter, had made a preliminary statement, that this blessing of redemption was greater than all other blessings, though it might appear to be unworthy of being so highly extolled, on account of the small number of those who were redeemed; so now he repeats the same comparison, or one not very different from it, namely, that this favor of God would be more remarkable than when he had formerly multiplied his people. This might at first sight be thought to be highly inappropriate; for if we compare the condition of the Jewish kingdom, before the Babylonish captivity, with its condition after the return from it, we may be led to think that the period during which its ancient possession remained unimpaired was a season of greater prosperity. It was but a small remnant that returned in comparison of that multitude which had been carried away. Besides, they had not the free possession of their land, but might be said to be tenants at will; and they had to pay tribute to the Persians, and retained hardly any semblance of their former rank. Who, therefore, would not have preferred that prosperous reign which had been enjoyed by the family of David to that condition?
But the Prophet declares that this latter condition, though it may appear to be greatly inferior, and even more wretched, ought to be preferred to that which was prosperous and splendid, and shows that it will yield greater joy than when they had an abundant share of wealth and of all kinds of possessions. This was also testified by Haggai,
that the glory of the latter temple would be greater than the glory of the former, (Hag 2:9,)
though at first sight it might appear to be far otherwise. It is as if Isaiah had said, “There never was greater joy, though the multitude of the people was greater. Though we are few and contemptible in number, yet by the light with which thou shinest on us thou hast cheered us to such a degree that no joy of our former condition can be compared with the present.” For that redemption might be regarded as a prelude to the full and perfect salvation which was at length obtained through Christ.
Before thee. He means that the joy was true and complete, not slight or temporary. Men often rejoice, but with a deceitful and transitory joy, which is followed by mourning and tears. He affirms that this joy has its roots so deeply laid, that it can never perish or be destroyed. Such is also the import of the phrase before thee; for nothing cheers the godly so much as when the face of God shines sweetly on them. They are not like irreligious men, who are carried hither and thither by a blind and uncertain joy, but they have that which alone gives ground for full joy, their reliance on God’s fatherly kindness. Perhaps also the Prophet intended to allude to those words which frequently occur in the writings of Moses: Thou shalt rejoice before the Lord thy God. (Lev 23:40; Deu 12:12.) For though the subject there spoken of is the Tabernacle, still the mode of expression is fitly applied to the present occasion, that the joy of a believing people will not be irreligious, but will arise from acknowledging God, and beholding him by the eyes of faith to be the author of salvation. (Heb 5:9.)
Others explain it more ingeniously, that inwardly believers rejoice before God in their consciences, because in the world grief and sighing continually awaits them. Though this is true, yet a more natural meaning is drawn from the connection of the passage, namely, that believers whom God shall redeem will possess true joy; because they will have been instructed by undoubted proof that he is their Father, so that they may freely boast that they will always be safe under his guidance; and, therefore, as I lately mentioned, it denotes continuance.
According to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoils. The comparisons of Harvest and Victory, by which he heightens the amount of the joy, are sufficiently plain. Now, hence it is evident what Christ brings to us, namely, a full and perfect joy, of which we cannot in any way be robbed or deprived, though various storms and tempests should arise, and though we should be weighed down by every kind of afflictions. However weak and feeble we may be, still we ought to be glad and joyful; for the ground of our joy does not lie in numbers, or wealth, or outward splendor, but in spiritual happiness, which we obtain through the word of Christ.
For thou hast broken his burdensome yoke. He explains the cause of the joy, that believers, when they have been delivered from a frightful and cruel tyranny, will feel as if they had been rescued from death. In order to illustrate the grace of God, he reminds them how shameful and burdensome was the slavery with which the Jews had been oppressed and afflicted; and this is his object in heaping up the expressions, the yoke of the shoulder, the staff of the shoulder, the rod of the oppressor or overseer. Whatever may be our excessive effeminacy or cowardice, while we actually feel afflictions, yet as soon as they are gone, we easily come to forget them. That the redeemed people may not think lightly of the favor of God, the Prophet bids them consider how bitter and mournful was the slavery, when they groaned under a heavy yoke or triumphal car, when the staff was laid on their shoulders, and they were oppressed by tyrannical rule; and therefore their deliverance ought justly to make them more glad and joyful.
Next, he extolls the excellence of this favor on another ground, that God has openly displayed his hand from heaven. For this purpose he adduces an ancient and memorable instance. As God had formerly overthrown the Midianites, without the help of men, by a wonderful and amazing method, (Jud 7:21,) so now there will be a similar and illustrious display of power; for God will deliver his people from a cruel tyranny, when not one of the wretched Jews will venture to lift a finger. Now, it ought to be observed that God sometimes assists his people in such a manner as to make use of ordinary methods; but when he sees that this hinders men from beholding his hand, which may be said to be concealed, he sometimes works alone, and by evident miracles, that nothing may prevent or obscure the manifestation of his power. Thus in this victory of Gideon, when the enemies were routed without any agency of men, the arm of God openly appeared. For what had Gideon but the noise of pitchers, which could scarcely have driven away mice, and a small band of men, against a vast army, and, instead of weapons, a useless scarecrow? To this deliverance, therefore, he compares the future deliverance of the people, in which the hand of God will be not less openly and illustriously displayed.
Some explain this passage as relating merely to the law, which might not inappropriately have been called a burdensome yoke, and a rod lying on the shoulders. But that interpretation is unsuitable; for it would give to the Prophet the appearance of having suddenly broken off from his subject, and would be a violent torture of this passage. We must therefore attend to that arrangement which I formerly noticed, namely, that when God brought his people out of Babylon, he continued that blessing of deliverance till Christ. The meaning therefore is, “Thou hast broken those burdens by which thy people were unjustly and cruelly oppressed.”
Others apply it to the destruction of Jerusalem during the reign of Vespasian, but they have no argument on their side. Almost all the Jews refer it to Hezekiah, when in this manner the Lord delivered the city from the siege of Sennacherib, and cut off his army. (2Kg 19:35; Isa 37:36.) But that interpretation could not be admitted, for Hezekiah did not reign tyrannically over the Jews. Besides, at that time the Lord rescued the people from fear and danger, and not from slavery. Hence it is evident that this prediction had a more distant object, and that the interpretation which I have given to this passage is just and reasonable.
(141) The Author’s meaning must be, not that א ( aleph) ever becomes the third singular pronominal affix, but that in Exo 21:8, to which he refers, ו and not א is probably the true reading. A better illustration might have been found in Psa 100:3, on which the reader may consult a valuable note by the editor. (Com. on the Psalms, vol. 4.) In all the three cases (Exo 21:8; Psa 100:3; Isa 9:3) the Keri, or conjectural emendation, has strong internal evidence to recommend it above the Ketib, or reading that stands in the copies which have come down to us. Another method of solving the difficulty is exceedingly ingenious, and consists in turning the first part of the verse into the form of a question. Hast thou multiplied the nation, and hast thou not increased the joy ? — Ed
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
THE JOY OF HARVEST
(Harvest Thanksgiving Sermon.)
Isa. 9:3. They joy before Thee according to the joy in harvest, &c.
I. The joy of the natural harvest. Harvest was peculiarly interesting to the Jews. [902][903].[904] Two things render the joy of harvest peculiar and impressive:
1. It is the completion and reward of the anxiety and labours of the year it closes.
2. It furnishes the supply for our needs in the year to come.We call upon you to rejoice before the Lord to-day (P. D. 17101712), and to associate your thanksgiving with the name of Christ (Heb. 13:15). Let all outward gifts remind you of that unseen Mediator through whom they flow. Our gratitude should be deep and fervent; it should bear some proportion to the regret we should have felt if God had withheld the blessings in which we now rejoice, and had blighted the promise of the year. Yet now, when those temporal gifts abound, let us remember their inability to satisfy the needs of the soul. The satisfaction for these needs is to be found only in Christ. He who had more corn than his barns could hold, now wants a drop of water to cool his tongue.
[902] They had scarcely any foreign tradenone till Solomons time. Every family lived upon its own inheritance and upon the produce of its own land. Consequently if harvest failed, all failed. They expressed their joy by solemn offerings to the Lord. Not a field was reaped before the wave-sheaf was placed upon the altar; and when it had been waved there, amidst the loud thanksgiving of the people, before the Lord of the whole land, the messengers from the Temple carried the proclamation to the husbandmen in the field, Put ye in the sickle and reap!Thodey.
II. The joy of the spiritual harvest. The vicissitudes of the religious life are often compared to those of the seasons (Psa. 126:5-6). The Christian husbandman has his anxieties, arising from the badness of the soil, the unfavourableness of the seasons, the delay of harvest, the fear of final loss. Yet he has his reaping seasons of joy even in this world
1. When a consciousness of sin which has long oppressed the soul is exchanged for a sense of pardoning mercy, through the application of the blood of sprinkling.
2. When, after a long period of depression, hope revisits the mind (H. E. I. 313, 314, 1658, 1659, 3041).
3. When there come to us the answers to our prayers that were long delayed (H. E. I. 3895, 3896). Hope deferred maketh the heart sick; but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.
4. When the spiritual triumphs of the gospel are made manifest: to parents in their families; to ministers in their congregations; to missionaries abroad. Just in proportion to the toil and the prolonged anxiety is the rapture of success. The harvest sometimes comes to us after long delay, after many anxieties, after many fears (Jas. 5:7-8). God sees fit to exercise His people with the discipline of suspense, but this is for their good (Lam. 3:26).
III. The joy of the eternal harvest. When all Christs people are gathered into His immediate presence (Mat. 13:39); then will the declaration of our text be fulfilled in the highest sense of which it is capable. The ransomed will rejoice when they think,
1. Of the grace that reigns in their salvation. By that grace they were transformed from being tares, the end of which is burning, into wheat meet for the garner.
2. Of the great cost and care bestowed upon their culture, that they might be ripened for the heavenly kingdom.
3. How often they despaired of their own safety.
4. Of their deliverance from the fearful fate of the tares and chaff, whose end is to be burned.
Samuel Thodey.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(3) Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy . . .Better, following the marginal reading of the Hebrew: Thou hast increased its joy. The picture is one of unmingled brightness; the return as of a golden age, the population growing to an extent never attained before (comp. Isa. 26:15; Jer. 31:27; Eze. 36:11), and scarcely admits of the dark shadow introduced by the reading of the text, unless, with some critics (Kay), we see in the words a contrast between the outward prosperity of the days of Solomon and Uzziah, in which there was no permanent joy, and the abundancy of joyfulness under the ideal king.
They joy before thee according to the joy in harvest . . .The words before thee are significant. The gladness of the people is that of worshippers at a sacrificial feast (Isa. 25:6; Deu. 12:7; Deu. 12:12; Deu. 12:18), who find the secret spring of blessing in their consciousness of the presence of Jehovah. So the New Testament writers speak of rejoicing in the Lord (Php. 3:1), of joy in the Holy Ghost (Rom. 14:17). This joy of harvest represents the peaceful side of that gladness, thought of as the gift of God (Act. 14:17). But it had another aspect. It was the rejoicing after a conflict, historically with foes like the Assyrians, spiritually with all powers hostile to the true kingdom of God (Mat. 12:29). The joy of the conquerors on the battle-field, like that of harvest, had become proverbial (Psa. 119:162).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
3. Hast multiplied the nation What nation? The true spiritual Israel all adherents to Messiah who come in place of the old Israel, undoubtedly come now into the prophet’s foreground.
And not Better, to him, as marginal reading. For the true Israel thou hast increased joy This spiritual joy is compared with joy in harvest. The Hebrew word for “joy” is in the construct state. “Joy of” , and the ellipsis is thus filled: “ Joy of the people,” etc. See Gesenius’s Grammar, 116. Hilarious joy is still a common usage in Palestinian festive seasons after harvest and after vintage; and spiritual joy in the text is, in its outward manner not in its quality or kind compared with this; also with the joy which occurred in old time in the division of spoils of war after great victories.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Isa 9:3. Thou hast multiplied the nation, &c. The prophet, in the remainder of this discourse, sets forth, First, A consequence of this great benefit, that is, the joy of the pious for so great a blessing, vouchsafed to them; and secondly, He enumerates three causes of this joy; Isa 9:4-6. With respect to the first, there seems to be no doubt but the verse should be read as follows, Thou hast advanced the nation; hast heightened upon her the joy, &c. which is Vitringa’s version; who observes very judiciously, that instead of la, not; lo, to her or it, should be read; which is agreeable to many of the ancient versions. The meaning is, “Thou hast advanced, amplified, or increased this nation with a very great benefit, and therefore prepared for it the highest joy; joy which, as the angel says to the shepherd, shall be to all people; true joy, arising from the consolations of the Gospel.” See Luk 2:10. Zec 2:10. The prophet, in the subsequent part of the verse, makes use of two expressions to denote the highest degree of joy. See Psa 4:7; Psa 119:62.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
The joy here spoken of, is not that carnal joy, which men of the world are seeking after; but the spiritual joy of grace in the heart: and the similitude of harvest-men and warriors is uncommonly beautiful. The husbandman soweth in hope; the soldier warfares in the same: but the race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong. The seed sown must pass under a long and anxious process; and the warrior must go through a long and painful campaign, before he can cry, Victory! But the joy of both is great, when the end hath crowned the action. Such is the joy of the spiritual. When the Lord hath broken the yoke of sin and Satan, those foes, more tremendous than all the host of Midian, and brought the soul out of prison, and the prison-house; and when this battle of the warrior, hath been accomplished by the blood of Christ and the fuel of the Spirit’s fire; oh! the joy of the soul in Christ Jesus! The Prophet is here, under the spirit of prophecy, speaking of those things as already accomplished, when as yet Christ, the sole author and finisher of them, is not come. But this is among the features of prophecy: for what shall assuredly come to pass, is in the divine mind as if already completed. Hence Christ, who was to come in the fulness of time, is called the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, Rev 13:8 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Isa 9:3 Thou hast multiplied the nation, [and] not increased the joy: they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, [and] as [men] rejoice when they divide the spoil.
Ver. 3. Thou hast multiplied the nation. ] Or, “Never since thou multipliedst this people, didst thou give them such joy” – i.e., such matter of joy as now thou intendest to do. Or thus, “Thou wilt multiply this nation, thou wilt increase their joy”; especially by sending thy Son, who is called “the gift,” Joh 4:10 “the benefit,” 1Ti 6:2 such as wherein all discontents are soon swallowed up. Everlasting joy shall be upon the heads of the Lord’s ransomed ones, they “shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” Isa 35:10
They joy before thee.
According to the joy in harvest.
And as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.
a Turkish History, fol. 345.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Thou: i.e. Jehovah*
hast. This is the Figure of speech Prolepsis, by which the future is prophetically spoken of as present, or past.
and not increased the joy. The difficulty is not removed by reading lo, “to him”, instead of l’o, “not” (which is the marginal reading of Hebrew text, and is followed by the Revised Version. Dr. C. D. Ginsburg suggests that the word in question, haggil’o, was wrongly divided into two words, and the last syllable (l’o) was treated as a separate word. Read as one word, the four lines form an Introversion, thus: Thou hast multiplied the exultation, Thou hast increased the joy: They joy before Thee according to the joy in harvest.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
not Omit, not. Isaiah complains that despite the wickedness of the northern kingdom her afflictions are light, her prosperity great.
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
hast multiplied: Isa 26:15, Isa 49:20-22, Neh 9:23, Psa 107:38, Hos 4:7, Zec 2:11, Zec 8:23, Zec 10:8
not increased the joy: or, to him increased the joy
they joy: Isa 12:1, Isa 25:9, Isa 35:2, Isa 35:10, Isa 54:1, Isa 55:12, Isa 61:7, Isa 61:10, Isa 65:18, Isa 66:10, Psa 4:7, Psa 126:5, Psa 126:6, Jer 31:7, Jer 31:12-14, Act 8:8, Phi 4:4, 1Pe 1:8
according: Isa 16:9, Isa 16:10
and as men: Jdg 5:3, 1Sa 30:16, 2Ch 20:25-28, Psa 119:162, Luk 11:22
Reciprocal: Job 12:23 – increaseth Pro 16:19 – than Jer 48:33 – joy Joe 1:12 – joy
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Isa 9:3. Thou hast multiplied the nation Thou hast made good thy promise to Abraham, concerning the multiplication of his seed, by adding his spiritual seed unto the carnal, by gathering in the Gentiles to the Jews, and making them both one people in Christ, Joh 10:16; Eph 2:14. For, in the Scriptures, the believing Gentiles are accounted the seed of Abraham as well as the Jews, Gal 3:7-9. Or, as the Hebrew may be rendered, Thou hast magnified the nation, honoured it with peculiar privileges above all other nations, and especially with this transcendent privilege, that the Saviour of the world should be born in it, and live among its people; of which he speaks more fully Isa 9:6-7. And not increased Or rather, according to the marginal reading in the Hebrew, (which, instead of , not, has , it, him, or them,) confirmed by many of the ancient versions, Thou hast increased their joy, which reading, it is evident, the next words require. Dr. Waterlands version of these two clauses is, Thou hast advanced the nation; hast heightened upon her joy. The meaning is, thou hast conferred upon it a very great benefit, and thereby prepared for it the highest joy: joy which shall be to all people; true joy arising from the consolations of the gospel. See Zec 2:10-11; Luk 2:10. They joy before thee In thy presence, and in the place of thy worship; according to the joy in harvest, &c. When men, with great joy, reap the long-expected fruit of their great labours and expectations, or as when, after a glorious victory, they come to take the spoil.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
9:3 Thou hast {g} multiplied the nation, [and] increased the joy: they rejoice before thee according to the joy in harvest, [and] as [men] rejoice when they divide the spoil.
(g) Their number was greater when they went into captivity then when they returned but their joy was greater at their return, Hag 2:9 .
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
God would reveal His presence to His people, and the results would be national growth (cf. Isa 7:20-23; Isa 49:19-23) and abundance (cf. Isa 5:10; Isa 33:23; Isa 35:1-2), really every type of joy.