Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 24:23
Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.
23. the moon shall be confounded ashamed ] i.e. shall “pale their ineffectual fires” before the light of Jehovah’s presence (see ch. Isa 60:19). A punishment of the sun and moon, as representatives of the “host of heaven,” is not to be thought of. The words “moon” and “sun” are poetic, signifying respectively “the white” and “the hot.” (Cf. ch. Isa 30:26)
the lord of hosts shall reign ] Lit. “hath proclaimed Himself king.”
before his ancients gloriously ] Render with R.V. marg. before his ancients (elders) shall be glory. There is an allusion to the Theophany seen by the seventy elders of Israel at Mount Sinai, recorded in Exo 24:9-10. It is significant that the representatives of the redeemed community who stand nearest to Jehovah are not a king and princes, as in ch. Isa 32:1, nor priests, as in Ezekiel’s Temple-vision, but a council of elders.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Then the moon shall be confounded – The heavenly bodies are often employed in the sacred writings to denote the princes and kings of the earth. These expressions are not to be pressed ad unguem as if the sun denoted one thing and the moon another; but they are general poetic expressions designed to represent rulers, princes, and magistrates of all kinds (compare Eze 32:7; Joe 2:30-31).
Shall be confounded – Shall be covered with shame. That is, shall appear to shine with diminished beauty, as if it were ashamed in the superior glory that would shine around it. The sense is, that when the people should be returned to their land, the theocracy would be restored, and the magnificence of the kings and other civil rulers would be dimmed in the superior splendor of the reign of God. Probably there is reference here to the time when Yahweh would reign in Jerusalem through, or by means of, the messiah.
In Mount Zion – (see the note at Isa 1:8). This would take place subsequently to the captivity, and pre-eminently under the reign of the messiah.
And before his ancients – That is, before the elders of the people; in the presence of those entrusted with authority and rule.
Gloriously – He would reign gloriously when his laws should be respected and obeyed; when his character as King and Ruler should be developed; and when, under his scepter, his kingdom should be augmented and extended. On this glad prospect the eye of the prophet was fixed; and this was the bright and splendid object in the vision that served to relieve the darkness that was coming upon the nation. Present calamities may be borne, with the hope that Yahweh will reign more gloriously hereafter; and when the effect of all shall be such as to exalt Yahweh in the view of the nations. It may be added that when Yahweh, by the Messiah, shall reign over all the earth, all the glory of princes and monarchs shall be dimmed; the celebrity of their wisdom and power and plans shall be obscured in the superior splendor of the wisdom of God, in reigning through his Son over the human race. Come that blessed day; and speedily let the glory of the moon be confounded, and the sun be ashamed, and all inferior magnificence t fade away before the splendor of the Sun of righteousness!
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 23. Before his ancients gloriously] In the sigt of their olde men he schal ben glorified. Old MS. BIBLE.
“The figurative language of the prophets is taken from the analogy between the world natural and an empire or kingdom considered as a world politic. Accordingly the whole world natural, consisting of heaven and earth, signifies the whole world politic, consisting of thrones and people; or so much of it as is considered in prophecy: and the things in that world signify the analogous things in this. For the heavens and the things therein signify thrones and dignities, and those who enjoy them; and the earth with the things thereon, the inferior people; and the lowest parts of the earth, called hades or hell, the lowest or most miserable part of them. Great earthquakes, and the shaking of heaven and earth, are put for the shaking of kingdoms, so as to distract and overthrow them; the creating a new heaven and earth, and the passing away of an old one, or the beginning and end of a world, for the rise and ruin of a body politic signified thereby. The sun, for the whole species and race of kings, in the kingdoms of the world politic; the moon, for the body of the common people, considered as the king’s wife; the stars, for subordinate princes and great men; or for bishops and rulers of the people of God, when the sun is Christ: setting of the sun, moon, and stars, darkening the sun, turning the moon into blood, and falling of the stars, for the ceasing of a kingdom.” Sir I. Newton’s Observations on the Prophecies, Part I., chap. 2.
These observations are of great consequence and use, in explaining the phraseology of the prophets.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed. The sun and moon are here considered either,
1. As they were abused to idolatry; for these two were most eminent idols, and most generally worshipped, especially in those Eastern countries, Deu 4:19; 17:3; Job 31:26, &c., and so may be put for all idols, which were confounded by Christ at his coming, as was foretold in Scripture, and verified by the testimony of ancient, yea, even of heathen historians. Or,
2. As they were the most eminent and glorious lights of the world, and were oft used, both in Scripture and other authors, to signify the great kings, and potentates, and glories of the world, as hath been formerly noted, and we shall have further occasion to remember. So the sense is, that all earthly powers and glories should be obscured with the far greater splendour of Christ, the King of kings, at whose feet even the kings of the earth shall fall down and worship, as we shall see in other parts of this prophecy. The Lord of hosts; the Messiah, who, though man, yet is also God, and the Lord of hosts, and is so called, Zec 2:8,11.
Shall reign in Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem; shall come in the flesh, and set up his kingdom, first in Jerusalem, and afterward in all other nations.
Before his ancients; before his ministers, who are in some sort the courtiers of this King of glory, as being continually attending upon him, and enjoying his presence, and executing the powers and offices of his kingdom; and especially before his apostles, who were the witnesses of his Divine words and works, and particularly of his resurrection and ascension, by which he entered upon his kingdom; and of this exercise of his royal power, in subduing both Jews and Gentiles to himself. The word ancient or elder is not a name of age, but of office, as it is in very many texts of Scripture. And the ancients are here put synecdochically for the whole church, in whose name and for whose service they act.
Gloriously, Heb. in glory, for that preposition is very frequently understood.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
23. (Jer3:17). Still future: of which Jesus’ triumphal entry intoJerusalem amidst hosannas was a pledge.
his ancientsthe eldersof His people; or in general, His ancient people, the Jews. After theoverthrow of the world kingdoms. Jehovah’s shall be set up with asplendor exceeding the light of the sun and moon under the previousorder of things (Isa 60:19;Isa 60:20).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed,…. Either literally understood; and the meaning is, that they shall be darkened, their light being eclipsed by the superior light of Christ, the sun of righteousness; see Mt 24:29 the New Jerusalem church state, which is referred to, will have no need of the light of the sun, or of the moon, Christ being the light thereof,
Re 21:23 figuratively it may be interpreted of the kings and great men of the earth, as Aben Ezra; whose glory will be outshone by the transcendent lustre and glory of Christ, the King of saints. The Targum paraphrases it of idolaters thus,
“and they shall be confounded that worship the moon, and they shall be ashamed that worship the sun;”
perhaps this may have reference to the fourth vial, which shall be poured out upon the pope and his clergy, Re 16:8:
when the Lord of hosts shall reign in Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem; who is no other than the Lord Jesus Christ, the true Jehovah, the Lord of hosts or armies, of the sun, moon, and stars, the host of heaven, and of the heavenly host of angels, and of men on earth; who was King from eternity, and reigned during the Old Testament dispensation; came a King into this world, though his kingdom was not of it, nor was with observation: upon his ascension to heaven was made and declared Lord and Christ; and now rules in the hearts of his people by his Spirit and grace, and whose spiritual reign will more manifestly appear in the latter day; but here it is to be understood of his reign on earth, which will be personal, visible, and glorious, and in a different manner from what it now is, when he will be King over all the earth. Zion and Jerusalem, where he will reign, may be literally understood as the chief place of his residence during this state, the spot of ground where he was most despised and ill treated; see Zec 14:4 or mystically, the church in the New Jerusalem state, Re 21:2 here he will reign,
and before his ancients gloriously: or, “in glory”; in his own glory, both as God and as man, and Mediator; and in his Father’s glory, and in the glory of his holy angels, in which he will come and appear; and therefore his appearing is called a glorious one, Lu 9:26 Tit 2:13 and this “before his ancients”, the ancient patriarchs both before the flood, as Adam, Abel, c. and after the flood, as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and others the old Jewish church, the prophets and saints of the Old Testament dispensation; the apostles and elders of the Gospel churches under the New; the four and twenty elders, the representatives of the Gospel churches, so often spoken of in the book of the Revelation; very probably with reference to this text; and all the saints, in all ages, who will now be raised from the dead, and live and reign with him; these are his ancients, who are loved with an everlasting love, chosen in him before the foundation of the world, with whom a covenant was made in him, and grace given to them in him, before the world began; in the midst and presence of these he will reign, and they shall behold his glory; yea, these shall appear in glory; for so the words may be construed, “before his ancients”, who are “glory”, or “in glory” b; for they shall appear with him in glory, both in soul and body, having the glory of God upon them, Col 3:4.
b “et coram senibus suis, gloria”, Pagninus, Montanus.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
23. The moon shall be confounded. Many commentators think that the Prophet waxes still more wroth against the Jews, so far as to say, that the sun and moon and stars are ashamed of their unbelief, and that not only men, but creatures devoid of speech, will abhor them; but this appears to be far removed from the meaning and design of the Prophet. I have no doubt that he continues to give the consolation which he had glanced at in the former verse; “When the Lord shall visit his people, and cleanse the Church from its defilement, he will establish a kingdom so illustrious that it will darken the sun and stars by its brightness.” This mode of expression is frequently employed by the prophets, and we have formerly seen it. Since, therefore, God will establish your kingdom on Mount Zion, so great will be its splendor in the restoration of the people, that those things which dazzle the eyes of men, will be dark in comparison of it; and, for the purpose of expressing this, he has mentioned those objects which surpass all others in brightness.
When the Lord of hosts shall reign in Mount Zion. Some think that the word reign denotes God’s vengeance; but this is inaccurate, for although the Lord is said to reign when he discharges the office of a Judge, yet the complex phrase, “the reign of God in Mount Zion,” always denotes mercy and salvation. He speaks of the restoration of the Church, and hence it follows, that it is only in Christ that those things are fulfilled.
And before his elders glory. By expressly mentioning the “elders,” he employs a figure of speech frequently used in Scripture, by which the chief part of the Church is taken for the whole body of it. And yet it is not without a special design that he denotes, by the term “elders,” not only the priests, but other governors who preside over discipline and morals, and by whose moderation and prudence others ought to be guided. Under their name he includes the whole nation, not only because they represent the whole body, and because the common people are in some measure concealed under their shadow, but likewise that believers may entertain hope of future restoration; for otherwise it would have been of little or no avail that a scattered multitude should be left like a mutilated body or a confused mass. Not without good reason did he use the phrase, “and before his elders,” that the Jews might know that the power of God would be visibly and strikingly displayed; not that it can be perceived by the bodily senses, but by faith. He reigns in such a manner, that we feel that he is present with us; and if we did not comprehend this, it would yield us no consolation.
Glory. (135) Instead of “glory” some read “gloriously,” and others, “glorious.” I prefer to take it simply as a substantive, though there is little difference in the meaning. He shews how great will be the splendor and glory of God, when the kingdom of Christ shall be established, because all that is brilliant must be obscured, and the glory of Christ alone must hold a high and prominent place. Hence it follows, that then only does God receive his just rights, and the honor due to him, when all creatures are placed in subjection, and he alone shines before our eyes.
(135) Bogus footnote
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(23) The moon shall be confounded . . .The thought implied is that the most glorious forms of created light will become dim, the moon red as with the blush of shame, the sun turning pale, before the glory of Jehovahs presence.
The Lord of hosts shall reign . . .Better, hath become king, the phrase being that used as in 2Sa. 5:4; 1Ki. 15:1, for a kings accession to his throne.
And before his ancients gloriously.Better, and before his elders shall he glory. The elders are, like the seventy of Exo. 24:9, like the twenty-four of Rev. 4:4, the chosen ones of the new Jerusalem, to whom it shall be given, as the counsellors of the great King, to see His glory, that glory resting on them as in old time it rested upon Moses.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Isa 24:23. Then the moon shall be confounded In this verse we have the alleviation or consequence of this judgment, with respect to the church. The simple sense of the words is plain, namely, that at the time, or after the time, wherein God should take vengeance upon the enemies of his people, his kingdom, restored and reformed, should shine more gloriously than the sun and moon in their orbs, when they appear in the greatest splendor and majesty to the eyes of men; which was remarkably the case under the Asmonean princes. The interior and recondite sense is, that at the time in which God should take the kingdom, not typically, but truly, it should come to pass that a certain mystical sun, and mystical moon, should be obscured, and cease to shine. See Joe 2:31. Rev 6:13 and Mat 24:29. The sun, and moon, and stars, &c. in the mystical language of Scripture, signify political rulers of states, as we have had occasion to observe before. The mystical explication of this prophesy is to be drawn from that part of the revelation to which we have before referred, and which shall be enlarged upon when we come to that part of the New Testament.
REFLECTIONS.1st, The immediate subject of this prophesy is Judaea; but in its most extensive sense may include the constant desolations which, by wars, are made in the earth; and may foretel the ruin of antichrist.
1. The earth, either the land of Judaea in particular, or the world in general, is represented in such confusion and desolation, as in its chaotic state; emptied of inhabitants, as a vessel turned upside down, without distinction of age, sex, station, or office, utterly spoiled and wasted, mourning under the judgments inflicted, fading like a flower, languishing as one under a severe disease, burnt up as with fire, and so desolate that few men remain. The proud and haughty are laid low before the heavy scourge. The fruit of the vine is destroyed by the inclement seasons, or the trees cut down by the ravagers; and those who spent in jollity the day, now sigh out their inconsolable sorrows. All joyful sounds are banished, and music is forgotten amid the dreary scene. The songs of the board of feasting are at an end, and strong drink no longer pleasant, when mingled with their tears, or become tasteless through their sickness and diseases. The city of confusion is broken down, the houses empty, the inhabitants slain by famine or the sword, and none remaining. Reduced to the deepest distress, their stores fail them in the siege, their joys are fled, their hopes desperate. Desolation reigns through the city, and the defences are ruined. If this be applied to Judaea, it paints the terrible destruction made by Antiochus, or, as some will have it, by Nebuchadnezzar; if to the fall of antichrist, we may see the like judgments predicted, Revelation 18. It should teach us, [1.] The vanity of the creature, and the necessity of seeking a better portion than that which is so transitory and uncertain. [2.] Death is continually making its ravages, we need be always ready. [3.] We should rejoice as if we rejoiced not, when we stand thus daily in jeopardy of having our joy turned into mourning. [4.] If the priest join the people in their iniquities, he will be the first and deepest in the punishment which God threatens to inflict.
2. The cause of this judgment is sin, provoking most justly the divine wrath and indignation. They have transgressed God’s laws, changed his ordinances and worship in opposition to his prescribed appointment, and broken the everlasting covenant, and therefore the curse of God terribly descends. This was fully verified in the Jews, whose disobedience to God’s laws, and instituted ordinances of worship, brought on their ruin, and forfeited all the mercies promised in the everlasting covenant of grace. Nor less applicable is it to the Romish church, where dispensations for sin gave a licence for iniquity, and all the ordinances of Christ are corrupted, or mutilated, and the Scriptures themselves perverted.
2nd, In the midst of the desolations threatened, a few escape the general ruin.
1. They are like the berries left on the olive tree, after it has been shaken; and like the gleaning grapes, one here and there, which escaped observation when the rest were gathered for the vintage. Note; (1.) God has had a people, when iniquity has been most prevalent. (2.) Whatever judgments he inflicts, they shall be hid in the day of his fierce anger.
2. A sense of the mercy manifested in their deliverance will awaken their gratitude and praise. Into whatever distant lands they may have been dispersed, they shall sing for the majesty of the Lord, magnified now in the destruction of their enemies. Note; The people of God will never want matter for their praise. In the days of deepest visitation, to the godly there riseth up light in the darkness.
3. They endeavour to improve these judgments, exhorting each other to glorify the Lord in the fires, or the vallies, in the sharpest pangs of sorrow, and the lowest state of abasement; acknowledging their suffering to be the just desert of their sins, and humbling themselves for them before God, in the most distant isles of the sea, whither they fled. Note; (1.) They who are God’s people cannot but be zealous for his glory. (2.) When we are in the furnace of affliction, we have a peculiar call to consider our ways, and turn unto the Lord. (3.) We glorify God especially, when in our deepest distresses we trust his promises.
This may be evidently applied to the Jewish people; among whom, in the worst times, God had a few who feared and loved him; and when he turned their captivity under Cyrus, and when they conquered under Judas Maccabeus, they saw their oppressors fallen, and, in the places whither they had been dispersed, glorified God for his mercy remembered in the midst of judgment. But it may also regard the faithful, under the oppression of antichrist, preserved for God, Rev 18:4 rejoicing at the fall of Rome, Rev 19:1-3 whereof the isles of the sea, and our own particularly, will be glad, and glorify God for his righteous judgments.
3rdly, The words from Isa 24:16 th to the conclusion of the chapter may be well applied to the ruin of Babylon, and the joy of the Jews on their return thence; but more particularly refer to the conquests of the Maccabees over the armies of Antiochus; or, which seems still an infinitely more noble view of the prophesy, to the triumphs of the saints, when Christ shall have subdued every foe, and shall reign over his ancients gloriously in the new Jerusalem.
1. The joy of the faithful in all lands is heard, giving glory to the righteous, to the Lord Jesus Christ, for the propagation of his Gospel, and the subdual of the enemies of the Christian name, Rev 19:1-7 or saying glory to the righteous ones, who, oppressed and persecuted as they had been, now will shine as stars in the firmament for ever and ever.
2. The prophet mourns on the prospect of the evil days which should precede the coming of Christ, when such perfidy would reign among men, and so general a departure from God prevail, that he should scarcely find faith in the earth. Note; The true prophets cannot behold a wicked world without feeling distress for their impending miseries.
3. The perplexity and distress of men’s minds, Luk 21:25-35 at the approach of the day of Christ, are described by an elegant paronomasia. Pachad, pachath, pach; fear, the pit, the snare are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth; no place affords shelter or refuge for the sinner’s soul. Note; When the day of the Lord cometh, it will be too late to fly, and impossible to escape. The way to prevent our terrors is, now to fly to the arms of Jesus for pardon and grace, that then we may confidently appear before our Judge.
4. The destruction of the world may be considered as represented here. It is utterly shaken in pieces, and reduced to its chaotic state of confusion, removed as a cottage, and doomed to eternal desolations, for the heavy iniquity which lies thereon, Rev 20:11. Note; Sin is the burden under which the world groans; to this origin may every evil we suffer be traced, for this is the curse upon the earth.
5. As an introduction to that great day, God will punish the hosts of the high ones that are on high, the king of Babylon, the kings of Assyria, and all the apostate priests; and also the man of sin, who exalteth himself above all that is called God, surrounded by an army of monks and friars, his champions: and the kings of the earth, who have subjected themselves under his dominion, and make war against the saints, to support the usurpations of the idolatrous church of Rome, Rev 17:2-14 being vanquished and subdued, they shall be shut up as prisoners in the pit, reserved in chains of darkness to the judgment of the great day, when they shall finally receive their doom.
6. The glorious triumphs of the Redeemer will appear, when all the powers of earth are fallen before him, represented by the sun and moon. Then will he reign before his ancients gloriously, or his ancients in glory, reigning with him, and made to sit down together on his eternal throne. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection; on such, the second death hath no power. See Revelation 20.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
DISCOURSE: 890
THE REIGN OF CHRIST GLORIOUS
Isa 24:23. Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the Lord of hosts shall reign in Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his antients, gloriously.
THE chapter before us seems to refer to the destruction of the Jewish Church and polity by the Chaldeans. But it looks forward, also, to their restoration, and to the establishment of the Messiahs empire consequent upon it. Of that period it is delightful to speak: for, in fact, the glory of it far exceeds all that language can express, or the most enlarged imagination can conceive.
To give you some idea of the Messiahs advent, as it is here described, I will endeavour to set before you,
I.
The nature of his kingdom
[It differs widely from all other kingdoms. Other kings have dominion over the persons and the property of their subjects; but his empire is over their souls The laws of other kingdoms are almost entirely restrictive: his, however restrictively expressed, are not prohibitory only, but preceptive; and intended to call forth into exercise every power of the soul. The substance of them all is contained in these two sayings, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy mind, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength; and thy neighbour as thyself. Nor does any one fully approve himself to him as a faithful subject, unless every thought of his heart be brought into captivity to the obedience of Christ [Note: 2Co 10:5.].]
II.
The extent of his dominion
[Never was there a kingdom like unto His. At present, indeed, His is very limited: but, at the period mentioned in my text, it will be absolutely universal: All kings shall bow down before him, all nations shall serve him [Note: Psa 72:11.], and the utmost ends of the earth shall be his possession [Note: Psa 2:8.]. There will then be but one Lord over the face of the whole world, and his name one [Note: Zec 14:9.]. Nor will there be any who yield him only a forced or partial obedience; for in that day all will be righteouse [Note: Isa 60:21.]: nor will there be any more a Canaanite in the land of the Lord of Hosts [Note: Zec 14:21.].]
III.
The happiness of his subjects
[If the happiness of a people be estimated by their honours, their wealth, their enjoyments, never was there a kingdom to be compared with His. The most exalted person in any other kingdom is but a child of man: whereas the least and meanest of his subjects is a child of the living God. Israel, says Jehovah, is my son, my first-born [Note: Exo 4:22.]. The wealth of earthly monarchs, however great, may be counted: that which is owned by the poorest of his subjects is unsearchable [Note: Eph 3:8.]. Though he have nothing (of an earthly nature), he actually possesses all things [Note: 2Co 6:10.]. In earthly kingdoms, a few only, and those of the higher ranks, have access to their king; and that only for a short season, on some particular occasions. But in Christs yea, and has liberty to ask whatsoever he will; with an absolute certainty, that (provided the gift will be beneficial to his soul) he shall obtain it [Note: Joh 14:13-14; Joh 15:7.]. In other kingdoms, the subjects are only subjects: but in Christs kingdom every subject is himself a king [Note: Rev 1:6.], having a throne [Note: Rev 3:21.], a crown [Note: 2Ti 4:8.], a kingdom [Note: Luk 22:29.], for his unalienable and everlasting possession. The subjects of other kingdoms have their pleasures and their joys; but the subjects of Christ are full of joy and peace in believing [Note: Rom 15:13.], yea, of joy unspeakable and glorified [Note: 1Pe 1:8.]. Well might Moses say, Happy art thou, O Israel, O people saved by the Lord, who is the shield of thy help, and who is the sword of thine excellency [Note: Deu 33:29.]!]
IV.
The glory of his reign
[Truly, never did there exist among men such a kingdom as this. In this there will not be found one enemy unsubdued; ar one subject of the realm debased, or destitute, or unholy, or unhappy. Even at present, so far as Christ really reigns in the heart, this is found a truth: but in that day, when his power will be universally operative and effectual, it will be productive of these effects in every place and in every bosom. But, as the crown and summit of all, every soul will refer to Christ as the life, the peace, the strength, the joy, the glory of his whole Church. There will be stars differing from each other in splendour; but all will acknowledge him as the sun, from whence all their lustre is derived, and to whom alone all the glory must be ascribed. In the reign of Solomon, so great was the prosperity of the Jewish people, that silver was common as the stones, and of no account in the public estimation [Note: 1Ki 10:21; 1Ki 10:27.]. But that was poverty itself, in comparison of what shall be the portion of Gods people in the millennial age: for then the very poorest amongst them shall be able to say, All things are mine; for I am Christs [Note: 1Co 3:22-23.].
That there may be trials then, as well as now, I do not deny: but they will all be made subservient to the advancement of the peoples happiness: seeing, that as their tribulations abound, their consolations also by Christ shall much more abound [Note: 2Co 1:5.].]
See then, Brethren,
1.
What you should affect on earth
[The sun and moon may well be considered as emblems of all that is great and glorious upon earth: but glorious as they are, they have no glory, by reason of the glory that excelleth. Before the superior lustre of the Redeemers kingdom they must hide their diminished heads, ashamed and confounded, as unworthy of regard, in comparison of Christ, and of the felicity that is enjoyed through him. Let this, then, be the one object of your desire, to become subjects of his kingdom. Verily, to be a door-keeper in his house, is better than to dwell in the most magnificent and richly furnished tents of the ungodly [Note: Psa 84:10.]. Seek to be able to say, My Beloved is mine, and I am his [Note: Son 2:16.]; and you can have no richer bliss out of heaven.]
2.
What blessedness awaits you in the eternal world
[There you will behold the King in his beauty [Note: Isa 33:17.], yea, in the full effulgence of his majesty and glory. There, too, will you yourselves be freed from all your present infirmities: for there the spirits of the just are made perfect [Note: Heb 12:23.]. There your powers will be enlarged, beyond all that you can now conceive; and you will be filled with bliss, to the utmost extent of your capacity to contain it. And what will you think of earthly honours and enjoyments then? Verily you will wonder how it was ever possible for you to be so enchanted with them as you once were. The sight of Christ face to face [Note: 1Co 13:12.] will swallow up every inferior object, even as the meridian sun eclipses and banishes the stars: and then your bliss will be complete, because there will no longer remain any object to distract your mind, or so much as a thought that does not emanate from, and centre in, your Saviour and your King. Methinks, in the anticipation of that day, I hear you already saying, Allelujah; for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth [Note: Rev 19:6.]!]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
REFLECTIONS
READER, while reading this Chapter, and beholding the miseries of the world, in consequence of sin, may we not exclaim with the Psalmist, Come, behold the works of the Lord, what desolations he hath made in the earth? Oh! the incalculable sorrows, by reason of sin, and the distresses in all ages! It deluged the world by water; it destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah by fire; it hath produced death in all the circumstances of mankind! But to see the awfulness of sin in its strongest colors, we must look at Golgotha, and behold Jesus dying for sin, the just for the unjust, to bring sinners to God.
Reader, do not forget to whom it is owing, that the earth still stands! Look unto Jesus! and so look, until the eye affect the heart. Oh! it is blessed to have such views of the Lamb of God, that shall drive away all other considerations, and make all things blush, like the heavenly bodies in the presence of their Lord, in having the whole heart and affections centered in him. Precious Jesus! be thou my one glorious object, and all leanness of soul will be forgotten, yea, done away.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Isa 24:23 Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.
Ver. 23. Then the moon shall be confounded. ] The glory of Christ’s kingdom shall be so great, that in comparison to it the sun and moon shall cast no light. See Isa 24:23 ; Isa 60:19 .
When the Lord of hosts.
And before his ancients.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
confounded = blush (from shame).
ashamed = turn pale (from fear).
the LORD of hosts. See note on Isa 1:9.
ancients = elders. Compare Rev 4:4.
gloriously = in glory, or “[shall be] a glory”.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
the moon: Isa 13:10, Isa 30:26, Isa 60:19, Eze 32:7, Eze 32:8, Joe 2:31, Joe 3:15, Mar 13:24-26, Rev 6:12-14, Rev 21:23
when: Isa 52:7, Exo 15:21, Psa 97:1, Zec 9:9, Mat 6:10, Mat 6:13, Rev 11:15, Rev 19:4, Rev 19:6
mount: Isa 12:6, Mic 4:7, Heb 12:22, Rev 14:1
before his ancients gloriously: or, there shall be glory before his ancients, Job 38:4-7, Dan 7:9, Dan 7:10, Dan 7:18, Dan 7:27
Reciprocal: Gen 1:16 – to rule Jos 10:13 – So the sun Job 25:5 – General Psa 145:11 – the glory Isa 8:18 – which Jer 9:26 – Egypt Eze 48:35 – The Lord Mat 24:29 – shall the Luk 21:25 – signs Act 2:20 – sun Act 22:6 – about Act 26:13 – above 1Co 13:10 – General 1Co 15:41 – General 2Co 3:10 – had Rev 1:16 – and his Rev 8:12 – and the third part of the sun Rev 16:8 – upon
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Isa 24:23. Then the moon shall be confounded The shadowy, typical, temporary, and imperfect dispensation of Moses, which afforded only a dim and uncertain light, like that of the moon, shall be eclipsed and vanish; and the sun ashamed The glory of the civil government, also even of the kingdom of David itself, shall be obscured by the far greater splendour of the kingdom of Christ, the King of kings, at whose feet the kings of the earth shall fall down and worship. When the Lord of hosts The Messiah, who, though man, is yet also God, and the Lord of hosts; shall reign in mount Zion, &c. Shall come in the flesh, and set up his kingdom, first in Jerusalem, and afterward in all other nations; before his ancients His ministers, who are, in some sort, the courtiers of this King of glory, as being continually attendant upon him, enjoying his presence, and executing the offices intrusted to them; and especially before his apostles, who were the witnesses of his divine words and works, and particularly of his resurrection and ascension, by which he entered upon his kingdom; and of the exercise of his royal power in subduing both Jews and Gentiles to himself. The word ancient, or elder, is not a name of age, but of office. And the ancients here represent, and are put for, the whole church, in whose name, and for whose service, they act.
Some think that, at the twenty-first verse, a transition is made from the ruin of the Jewish nation for opposing the gospel, to the destruction of the anti- christian powers, which is to introduce the general prevalence of true religion, and the glory of Christs millennial reign; and that the twenty-first and twenty-second verses are intended of that destruction. There is, however, this objection to that interpretation: it is not reconcileable with the last clause of Isa 24:22, namely, after many days they shall be visited. For surely these antichristian powers are not to be visited and restored. This clause indeed, considering the connection in which it stands, does not seem to be applicable to any event predicted in Scripture, but the conversion and restoration of the Jewish nation after the many ages of their dereliction and depression. Then, however, when the fulness of the Gentiles shall be brought in, and all Israel shall be saved, the twenty-third verse shall receive a far more complete accomplishment. The Messiahs kingdom shall then appear in its greatest glory on earth; and the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed. Not only the borrowed light of inferior and subordinate states, but the splendour of the mightiest empires shall be eclipsed and put to shame by it.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
24:23 {p} Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign on mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.
(p) When God restores his Church, the glory of it will so shine, and his ministers (who are called his ancient men) that the sun and the moon will be dark in comparison to it.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The moon and sun, the most glorious rulers of human life, in the physical sense, will be ashamed by the appearance of an even more glorious ruler (cf. Rev 21:23). The sun and the moon were important gods in the ancient Near East, but no god can stand beside Yahweh. Isaiah’s is a poetic description of relative glory. Isaiah did not use the astronomical words for moon and sun here but poetic equivalents, the "white" and the "hot." Yahweh Almighty will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem (cf. Isa 2:2-4; Mic 4:1-5; Zec 14:9; Rev 21:2; Rev 21:10). Some amillennialists believe these are not real places but earthly names for the place from which God presently rules: heaven. Young wrote the following:
"Both Zion and Jerusalem are . . . figures of the seat of the eternal kingdom." [Note: Young, 2:182.]
Other passages reveal that Yahweh will reign in the person of Messiah (e.g., Rev 20:4). Amillennialists believe that this will not be Messiah’s rule over the earth; He will have no earthly rule in their view. But what Isaiah intended to reveal was that His spiritual rule, which has been in existence since Christ’s first coming, they believe, will be all embracing. [Note: See ibid.] His elders (vice regents) will be there and will behold His glory, as the elders of Israel beheld Yahweh’s glory on Mount Sinai (Exo 24:9-11; cf. Rev 4:4; Rev 4:9-11; Rev 19:11-16).
"In each of the heavenly throne scenes there are other beings surrounding Yahweh’s throne. Isa 6:2 calls them . . . ’seraphs.’ 1Ki 22:21 calls them . . . ’spirits.’ Job 1:6 calls them . . . ’sons of god.’ Here they are called . . . ’elders’ (Revelation 4-19 passim). They all seem to refer to the same beings who have the same functions." [Note: Watts, p. 330.]