Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 30:25
And there shall be upon every high mountain, and upon every high hill, rivers [and] streams of waters in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall.
25. Even the arid slopes of the hills of Palestine shall then flow with water.
slaughter, when the towers fall ] cf. ch. Isa 2:12 ff. It is a vague poetic allusion to the day of the Lord, when all His enemies are destroyed.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
In the day of the great slaughter – When the enemies of the people of God shall have been destroyed – probably in a time subsequent to the slaughter of the army of the Assyrians.
When the towers fall – The towers of the enemy; perhaps referring here to the towers of Babylon. After they should fall, the Jews would be favored with the time of prosperity to which the prophet here refers.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 25. When the towers fall – “When the mighty fall.”] migdalim, , Sym.; , Aquila; rabrebin, Chald.; all signifying mighty sizes.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Upon every high mountain, and upon every high hill; which are commonly dry and barren, and destitute of rivers.
In the day of the great slaughter; when God shall destroy the enemies of his people, he will shower down his blessings upon his church.
The towers; either properly, the towers of Babylon, for which she was famous; or metaphorically, the high and mighty potentates, which fought against Gods people, as Isa 2:15.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
25. Even the otherwise barrenhills shall then be well-watered (Isa44:3).
the day, &c.whenthe disobedient among the Jews shall have been slain, asforetold in Isa 30:16:”towers,” that is, mighty men (Isa2:15). Or else, the towers of the Assyrian Sennacherib, orof Babylon, types of all enemies of God’s people.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And there shall be upon every high mountain, and upon every high hill,…. Which were round about Jerusalem, and in other parts of Judea:
rivers [and] streams of water; such abundance of rain, that it should flow in streams like rivers, from the higher to the lower lands, and water them. This may in a spiritual sense be understood of the great plenty of the ministry of the Gospel, in all the kingdoms of the world, great and small, signified by mountains and hills; and which may also intimate the open and public ministrations of it in them,
Zec 14:8 or of the blessings of grace, and the graces of the Spirit, communicated everywhere; see Isa 41:18 Joh 7:38. This is applied to the times of the Messiah by the Jews g themselves, and respects the latter part of those times:
in the day of the great slaughter; not of Sennacherib’s army by the angel, as many Jewish and Christian interpreters understand it; nor of the Babylonians, at the taking of Babylon by Cyrus; but of the antichristian kings, and their armies, Re 19:17. So the Targum paraphrases it,
“for the ruin of kings and their armies, in the day of the great slaughter;”
and a great slaughter it will be indeed:
when the towers fall; not the batteries and fortifications raised in the Assyrian camp, at the siege of Jerusalem, which fell when they were destroyed by the angel; or the great men and princes in that army, which then fell; though towers sometimes signify great persons, such as princes; see Isa 2:15 and so the Targum interprets it here; and may be true of the antichristian princes; for of the fall of the great city of Rome, and of other cities of the nations, with the towers thereof, is this to be understood, even of mystical, and not of literal Babylon; see Re 11:13.
g Bemidbar Rabba, fol. 212. 3.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
25. And it shall come to pass. When the prophets describe the kingdom of Christ, they commonly draw metaphors from the ordinary life of men; for the true happiness of the children of God cannot be described in any other way than by holding out an image of those things which fall under our bodily senses, and from which men form their ideas of a happy and prosperous condition. It amounts therefore to this, that they who obey God, and submit to Christ as their king, shall be blessed. Now, we must not judge of this happiness from abundance and plenty of outward blessings, of which believers often endure scarcity, and yet do not on that account cease to be blessed. But those expressions are allegorical, and are accommodated by the Prophet to our ignorance, that we may know, by means of those things which are perceived by our senses, those blessings which have so great and surpassing excellence that our minds cannot comprehend them.
And on every high hill there shall be streams. When he says that “on the mountains” there shall be “streams and rivulets,” he gives a still more striking view of that plenty and abundance with which the Lord will enrich his people. Water is not plentiful on the peaks of the mountains, which are exceedingly dry; the valleys are indeed well moistened, and abound in water; but it is very uncommon for water to flow abundantly on the tops of the mountains. Yet the Lord promises that it shall be so, though it appear to be impossible; but by this mode of expression he foretells that, under the reign of Christ, we shall be happy in every respect, and that there will be no place in which there shall not be an abundant supply of blessings of every description; that nothing will be so barren as not to be rendered fruitful by his kindness, so that everywhere we may be happy. This is what we should actually experience, if we were fully under the authority of Christ. We should plainly see his blessing on all sides, if we sincerely and honestly obeyed him; everything would go on to our wish; and the whole world and everything in it would contribute to our comfort; but, because we are very far from yielding that obedience, we have only a slight taste of those blessings, and enjoy them so far as we have advanced in newness of life.
By the day of slaughter, is denoted another mark of the divine favor, that God will keep his people safe and sound against the violence of enemies; and in this way the Prophet gives credibility to the former prediction; for otherwise it would have been difficult to believe that captives and exiles would enjoy such prosperity. Here he speaks therefore of the slaughter of the wicked; as if he had said, “The Lord will not only do you good, but will also drive out your enemies.” It is generally thought that the Prophet now speaks of the defeat which befell the wicked king Sennacherib when he besieged Jerusalem. (2Kg 19:35; Isa 37:36.) But when I examine it more closely, I am more disposed to view this passage as referring to the destruction of Babylon; for although a vast multitude of persons was slain, when Sennacherib was shamefully put to flight, yet still the people were not delivered. This reminds us that we ought not to despair, even though our enemies be very numerous, and have abundance of garrisons, troops, and fortifications; for the Lord can easily put them to flight and defend his Church. Let us not be terrified at their power or rage, or be discouraged because we are few in number; for neither their troops, nor their bulwarks, nor their rage and insolence, will hinder them from falling into the hands of God.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
RIVERS OF WATERS
Isa. 30:25-26. And there shall be upon every high mountain, &c.
These are symbols of the blessings God will confer upon His people when He returns to them in mercy. These are vivid presentations of two characteristics of these blessings, their copiousness and their universality.
1. To express their COPIOUSNESS the prophet speaks not of streams merely, but of rivers; rivers and streams of water; and declares that they shall be poured forth, not merely as the light from the sun, but as if the light of seven days were concentrated in one [1138]
2. To express at once their copiousness and their UNIVERSALITY, He declares that the rivers and streams shall run on the hills and mountains, yea, upon every hill and mountain [1141] The idea of universality is involved also in the figure of sunlight [1144]
[1138] We can conceive of nothing more bright, pervading, and universal than the light of the sun. At its rising the whole face of nature is displayed, every object in brought out to view; the grandest or loveliest features of the scene are presented to us in all their extent and magnificence, while the most delicate tints of the smallest flower are seen in all their softest shades and richest hues. Still this glorious object in its full splendour, the sun itself is too dim, too dull, too feeble to represent the grace and love of our God; it must be multiplied sevenfold. And even then it but indistinctly shadows forth the unspeakable mercy of the everlasting God.Packer.
[1141] Rivers and streams of waters. But where is their current? Upon every high mountain and upon every high hill. Now, there can be no rivers and streams on the summit of the mountain range, nor upon the high hill-top. Rivers and streams are fed from these lofty elevations; they take their rise amid these towering heights, but they do not find a channel there. Thus you see that to typify the effluence of the Holy Spirit, these flowing waters of the text are described as being in unusual localities, to intimate that the blessings will be in such abundance and profusion as to outrun expectation and surpass all experience. And this not in some highly favoured regions only, but the blessing shall be universal, even upon every high mountain and upon every high hill.Packer.
[1144] This, like the air, cannot be excluded; it penetrates the gloomiest caverns, can enter even through a cranny. So there is no soul out of reach of the all-pervading Spirit. Those that are inaccessible to man can be reached, and enriched, and blessed by the mighty energy of the Holy Ghost.Packer.
Have these promises been fulfilled? Yes.
1. When the Gospel was given to the world. Its messengers were sent forth into every land, and it is a small thing to say that the light it gave was sevenfold that which the most enlightened of the heathen had possessed.
2. In the experience of every believing soul. The Gospel reaches many who seem utterly beyond any saving influence; and when it does really reach a man, is received into his heart. It gives him a light of more than sevenfold brightness and value as compared with the best of the lights he before possessedreason and conscience [1147]
3. It is fulfilled in our own day in the wide diffusion of the Gospel and the remarkable increase of religious knowledge. Gods Word is being carried into every land, and the children in our daily and Sabbath schools have a fuller acquaintance with Scripture than many men and women of the last generation. There is to be a yet more complete fulfilment of these promises in that glorious era of which we speak as the Millennium [1150]
[1147] When we attempt to compare the boasted light of natural reason with the light which the Spirit alone can impart, it is not simply that the former is as the light of the moon, and the latter as the light of the sun; but the one is as Egyptian darkness, and the other as the splendour of the meridian sun, without even one small fleecy cloud intervening. Jesus Christ is the light of life (2Co. 4:6). All that we can know of God, of His attributes and perfections, of His plans and purposes, He has revealed unto us by His Son. To those who are in Christ all is light, and harmony, and peace; to those who are without Christ all is gloom, and confusion, and terror. By faith in Him we see that all Gods dealings wear an aspect of mercy, love, and wisdom. Corrections are inflicted for our profit; disappointments are sent to wean us from the unsatisfying, perishing things of time and sense. Surely, in this respect, the promise in the text is made good to the believer; he enjoys sevenfold light in his soul compared to that which he had in the days when he knew not the true God and Jesus Christ, whom He had sent.Packer.
[1150] But these mercies will be preceded by the convulsions of the moral earthquake. The very terms in which the promise is couched convey the idea of trial and suffering. There is a breach which the Lord binds up, and there is the stroke of a wound to he healed, implying previous violence.Packer.
It rests with ourselves to determine whether the fulfilment of these promises shall be to us a blessing [1153]John Packer: Warnings and Consolations. pp. 256271.
[1153] What shall the universality and copiousness of the rivers and streams of water profit us, if we will not drink of them? In the natural world a man would be nothing benefited, though the light of the sun was augmented sevenfold, if he studiously closed and sealed every opening by which it entered his dwelling, or if he placed an impervious bandage tightly over his eyes whenever he went abroad (Joh. 12:36).Packer.
[See also Outlines, RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE, Isa. 32:2, and ENRICHING RIVERS, Isa. 33:21.]
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(25) There shall be upon every high mountain . . .The picture of a golden age is continued. The mountains and hills, often so dry and barren, should flow down with rivers of waters, and irrigate the valleys. And this should coincide with the day of a great slaughter, perhaps of the enemies of Israel, perhaps also of the people themselves (judgment coming before the blessing), and of the fall of the towers in which they had put their trust. (Comp. Isa. 40:4.) As before, mans extremity was to be Gods opportunity. Possibly, however, the towers are those of the besiegers of the city.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Isa 30:25 And there shall be upon every high mountain, and upon every high hill, rivers [and] streams of waters in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall.
Ver. 25. Rivers and streams of waters. ] To moisten them and make them fertile.
When the towers fall
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
streams. Hebrew. yiblei (from yabal = to bring, or conduct along). Occurs only here in the “former” portion, and only in Isa 44:4, in the “latter” portion of Isaiah, where it is rendered “watercourses”. App-79.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
upon every high: Isa 2:14, Isa 2:15, Isa 35:6, Isa 35:7, Isa 41:18, Isa 41:19, Isa 43:19, Isa 43:20, Isa 44:3, Isa 44:4, Eze 17:22, Eze 34:13, Eze 34:26, Joh 7:38, Rev 22:1
high: Heb. lifted up
in the day: Isa 34:2-10, Isa 37:36, Isa 63:1-6, Eze 39:17-20, Rev 16:1 – Rev 19:21
when: Isa 32:14, Nah 3:12, 2Co 10:4
Reciprocal: Gen 24:17 – water of Jos 6:5 – and the wall Isa 48:21 – they thirsted Eze 38:20 – steep places Eze 47:1 – waters issued Joe 3:18 – and all Rev 7:17 – shall lead
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Isa 30:25. On every high mountain, and every high hill Which are commonly dry and barren; shall be rivers and streams of water Fertilizing and refreshing blessings, showered down by God upon his church and people. This verse certainly cannot be understood literally, and the mystical meaning, according to Vitringa and some others, is, that in all the more celebrated places, whether of kingdoms or cities, there should be synagogues, public schools, or oratories, in which the word of God, and the doctrine of pure religion, should be copiously taught, and the waters of sound instruction poured out, so that the lovers of true wisdom, piety, and virtue, might there quench their thirst. The time in which these benefits should be conferred upon the church is denoted by this character, namely, in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers shall fall That is, when God should take severe vengeance upon the enemies of his people. Perhaps the destruction of Jerusalem and of the temple, with the subversion of the Jewish state, and the slaughter of immense multitudes of Jews, events connected with the calling of the Gentiles, and the extensive propagation of the gospel, might be first in the prophets view. The words may further refer to the overthrow of the pagan, persecuting Roman empire, and the great slaughter that preceded or accompanied it. But, undoubtedly, the words ultimately refer to the destruction of all the antichristian powers, the subversion of the fortresses and towers of Satans kingdom, making way for the universal diffusion of divine truth and spread of true religion. This shall be remarkably fulfilled, says Lowth, at the time when there shall be a terrible destruction of Gods enemies, (Rev 14:20; Rev 19:21,) and when the great ones of the earth shall fall, denoted here by high towers, or the fortifications of mystical Babylon.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
30:25 And there shall be upon every high {x} mountain, and upon every high hill, rivers [and] streams of waters in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall.
(x) By these various manners of speech he shows that the happiness of the Church will be so great, that no one is able sufficiently to express it.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
There will also be an abundance of water, even on the hilltops, when the Lord defeats His enemies (at Armageddon; cf. Isa 30:19; Isa 2:12-17; Isa 25:1-5; Rev 16:16; Rev 19:17-21). Increased light and the healing of God’s formerly broken and bruised people will also mark "that day" (cf. Isa 24:23; Rom 8:21). The point is that things will be much better then than now. It may be impossible for life as we know it to exist if there were literally seven times as much light as there is now. Yet a renovation of nature as well as humankind is in view.
"Evidently [this is] a description of the glories of the Millennium (since this kind of prosperity has no appropriateness for a heavenly existence)." [Note: Archer, p. 630. Cf. Delitzsch, 2:39.]
Young interpreted these blessings as referring to the blessings of salvation. [Note: Young, 2:360-63]