Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 25:10
For in this mountain shall the hand of the LORD rest, and Moab shall be trodden down under him, even as straw is trodden down for the dunghill.
10. The fate of Moab is contrasted with that of Israel. It is as if one hand of Jehovah rested lightly and protectingly on Zion while the other crushes and extinguishes Moab.
under him ] means “under himself,” i.e. in the place where he (Moab) stands.
for the dunghill ] R.V. in the water of the dunghill rightly follows the consonantal text in opposition to the Massoretic tradition. But it should have at the same time substituted “dung-pit” for “dunghill.” This word ( madmnh) is perhaps a play on the name Madmen (Jer 48:2); it also resembles the word for “straw” ( mathbn).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
For in this mountain – In mount Zion.
Shall the land of the Lord rest – The hand in the Scriptures is often used as the symbol of protection and defense. By the expression that the hand of Yahweh should REST on mount Zion, is meant probably that be would be its defender; his protection would not be withdrawn, but would be permanent there. For an illustration of the phrase, see a similar use of the word hand as denoting protection, in Ezr 7:6, Ezr 7:28; Ezr 8:18, Ezr 8:22, Ezr 8:31; Neh 2:8.
And Moab – (For an account of Moab, see the notes at Isa 15:1-9; Isa 16:1-14.) Moab here seems to be used in a general sense to denote the enemies of God, a and the declaration that it would be trodden down seems designed to indicate that the foes of God and his people would all be destroyed (compare the notes at Isa. 34)
Under him – The Chaldee renders this, In his own place. The phrase has the sense of in his place, in Exo 16:29; 2Sa 2:23. Here it may mean that Moab, or the enemies of God, would be trodden down and destroyed in their own land.
As straw is trodden down for the dunghill – As straw is suffered to lie in the yard where cattle lie, to be trodden down by them for the purpose of making manure. Lowth renders this,
As the straw is threshed under the wheels of the car.
The Septuagint renders it in the same way. Lowth supposes that there has been an error in transcribing the Hebrew text, and that the former reading was instead of . But there is not the slightest evidence from the MSS that any such mistake has occurred. Nor is it necessary to suppose it. The image is one that is not of unfrequent occurrence in the Scriptures, to denote the complete and disgraceful prostration of an enemy (see Psa 83:10; 2Ki 9:37; Jer 8:2; Jer 9:22; Jer 16:4; Jer 25:33).
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Isa 25:10
Moab shall be trodden down under Him
Gods judgments manure
After the process of primary ploughing has been completed our fields are covered with some appropriate manure, that the earth may be enriched, and larger crops gathered into our barns.
In the world at large which is Gods husbandry, His judgments, which deface and destroy countries and nations, are clearly intended, in their remoter influence, to effect the subsequent fruitfulness of those very spots: and the products of righteousness, in larger abundance, have been gathered among those people where the full measure of Divine vengeance had been previously poured. When His judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants will learn righteousness. (W. Clayton.)
The ground manured
Our text will furnish us with an occasion to establish and illustrate the fast that Divine vengeance shall overwhelm the enemies of the Church; and from their disgraceful ruin shall result advantage to the cause, and glory to the perfections of Deity.
I. GOD HAS REVEALED HIS WRATH FROM HEAVEN AGAINST ALL UNGODLINESS AND UNRIGHTEOUSNESS OF MEN; and although slack in executing His threatenings, as some men count slackness, the expected day of the Lords vengeance will certainly and suddenly arrive.
1. However exalted among the great ones of the earth offenders have been, the just displeasure of God has been displayed, and vengeance has overwhelmed them.
2. As no person, however elevated, is exempt from the judicial control of the Most High; so no part of the world is found where this truth has not been proclaimed.
3. In every successive age have these truths received an awful confirmation.
II. THESE SIGNAL PROOFS OF GODS DISPLEASURE PROMOTE THE BEST INTERESTS OF ZION, and consequently redound to His glory.
1. A large accession to the Church on earth is stated to be the immediate consequence of the ruin of Moab (Isa 26:1-2). In a degree infinitely more astonishing shall the final destruction of Zions foes precede the period of her destined perfection on earth.
2. It is pleasant to see the strength and establishment of Zion resulting from the demolition of the schemes which were formed for her ruin.
3. The rich and abundant fruitfulness of the Church–the field which God blesseth–is advanced by these displays of His vindictive wrath
III. CONCLUSION.
1. We are taught to whose culture we are exclusively indebted, if these fruits of righteousness are in our case the results of beholding Gods judgments. Manure spread on the ground will only render weeds, its natural product, of more luxuriant and disgusting growth; nor will the Divine judgments, but for the subsequent care and cultivation of the Great Husbandman, promote the salutary change which is desired.
2. Do not our minds, necessarily, when contemplating any species of suffering, revert to Him who was bruised or threshed for our sakes; who, bearing the indignation of the Lord because we have sinned against Him, was trodden down as mire in the streets by ungodly men, and finally suffered without the camp; and to those also who, being conformed to His death, were esteemed the off-scouring of all men, of whom the world was not worthy?
3. Estimate aright the invaluable privilege of being interested in the cultivating care of the great Husbandman. (W. Clayton.)
Moab
As the name British in our own revolutionary war became equivalent to hostile, without losing its specific sense, so might the prophets threaten Moab with Gods vengeance, without meaning to exclude from the denunciation other like-minded enemies. (J. A. Alexander, U. S. A.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 10. Shall the hand of the Lord rest – “The hand of JEHOVAH shall give rest”] Heb. tenuach, quiescet. Annon taniach, quietem dabit, shall rest; shall give rest, ut Graeci, , et Copt.? – Mr. WOIDE. That is, “shall give peace and quiet to Sion, by destroying the enemy;” as it follows.
As straw is trodden down – “As the straw is threshed”] Hoc juxta ritum loquitur Palastinae et multarum Orientis provinciarum, quae ob pratorum et foeni penuriam paleas preparant esui animantium. Sunt autem carpenta ferrata rotis per medium in serrarum modum se volventibus, quae stipulam conterunt; et comminuunt in paleas. Quomodo igitur plaustris ferratis paleae conteruntur, sic conteretur Moab sub eo; sive sub Dei potentia, sive in semetipso, ut nihil in eo integri remaneat. “This is spoken in reference to the mode of threshing in Palestine, and various other Asiatic provinces. Because of the scarcity of meadow land and hay they make chopped straw for the cattle. They have large wheels studded over with iron teeth or nails, by which, on the out-of-door threshing-floors, they pound and reduce the straw into chaff. As, therefore, the straw is reduced to chaff by bringing the iron-shod wheel over it; so shall Moab be bruised by the power of God, that nothing whole shall remain.” – Hieron. in loc. See Clarke on Isa 28:27.
For the dunghill – “Under the wheels of the car.”] For madmenah, the Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate read mercabah, which I have followed. See Jos 15:31, compared with Jos 19:5, where there is a mistake very nearly the same. The keri, bemi, is confirmed by twenty-eight MSS., seven ancient, and three editions.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Shall the hand of the Lord rest; the powerful and gracious presence of God (which is oft signified in Scripture by Gods hand) shall have its constant and settled abode; it shall not move from place to place, as it did with the tabernacle; nor shall it depart from it, as it did from Jerusalem; but shall continue in his church even to the end of the world, Mat 28:20.
Moab; the Moabites, which having been constant and implacable enemies to Israel, are synecdochically put for all the enemies of Gods church, as the Edomites upon the same account are, Isa 34:6; 63:1.
Under him; under his feet, as appears by the following similitude.
Even as straw is trodden down for the dunghill; as easily and as effectually as the straw, which being left upon the ground, and mixed with the dung which lies there, is trampled upon by the feet of men and beasts.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
10. restas its permanentprotector; on “hand” in this sense; compare Ezr 7:6;Ezr 7:28.
Moabwhile Israel isbeing protected, the foe is destroyed; Moab is the representative ofall the foes of God’s people.
under himRather, “inhis own place” or “country” (Exo 10:23;Exo 16:29).
for the dunghillRather,”in the water of the dung heap,” in which straw was troddento make it manure (Ps 83:10).HORSLEY translates either,”in the waters of Madmenah,” namely, for the making ofbricks; or as the Septuagint, “as the threshing-flooris trampled by the corn-drag” (see Margin; Mic4:11-13).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
For in this mountain shall the hand of the Lord rest,…. Where he will make the feast of fat things, Isa 25:6 even in his church, which is his resting place, and where he delights to dwell; and over whom his hand is, and abides for their protection and safeguard; and where he gives rest, as the Septuagint k render it; even spiritual rest to the souls of his people; and where, as the Targum has it,
“the power of the Lord is revealed;”
namely, in the preservation of his church, and in the destruction of its enemies; as follows:
and Moab shall be trodden down under him: under the Lord, and his mighty hand of power; or “under it”; under the mountain, the church; under the feet of the saints; see Mal 4:2 or, “in his place” l, as Jarchi and Kimchi explain it; wherever he is, or shall be found, where he lies there shall he be trodden upon. By Moab the enemies of the church are meant, and is put for them all, even all the antichristian powers, both Turks and Papists; their ruin is expressed by treading down or threshing, in allusion to the threshing of corn, as the word used mostly signifies, when the straw is bruised by the cartwheel, or the feet of oxen; or to the treading of straw in the mire, as follows:
even as straw is trodden down for the dunghill; or in “it” m; or “in the waters of the dunghill” n, as the Cetib; where being cast and trodden, it rots, and becomes dung; and so the Targum,
“as straw is trodden in the clay;”
Jarchi interprets it to this sense. R. Joseph Kimchi takes it to be the name of a place, Madmenah, which was one of the cities of Moab,
Jer 48:2.
k . l “apud se”, i.e. “in loco suo”, Vatablus, Junius & Tremellius. m as the Keri or marginal reading directs it should be read. n in “aquis sterquilinii”, De Dieu.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
In the land of promise there is rejoicing, but on the other side of the Jordan there is fear of ruin. Two contrasted pictures are placed here side by side. The Jordan is the same as the “great gulf” in the parable of the rich man. Upon Zion Jehovah descends in mercy, but upon the highlands of Moab in His wrath. “For the hand of Jehovah will sink down upon this mountain, and Moab is trodden down there where it is, as straw is trodden down in the water of the dung-pit. And he spreadeth out his hands in the pool therein, as the swimmer spreadeth them out to swim; but Jehovah forceth down the pride of Moab in spite of the artifices of his hands. Yea, thy steep, towering walls He bows down, forces under, and casts earthwards into dust.” Jehovah brings down His hand upon Zion ( nuach , as in Isa 7:2; Isa 11:1), not only to shelter, but also to avenge. Israel, that has been despised, He now makes glorious, and for contemptuous Moab He prepares a shameful end. In the place where it now is , as in 2Sa 7:10; Hab 3:16, “in its own place,” its own land) it is threshed down, stamped or trodden down, as straw is trodden down into a dung-pit to turn it into manure: hiddush , the inf. constr., with the vowel sound u, possibly to distinguish it from the inf. absol. hiddosh (Ewald, 240, b). Instead of (as in Isa 43:2), the chethib has (cf., Job 9:30); and this is probably the more correct reading, since m admenah , by itself, means the dunghill, and not the tank of dung water. At the same time, it is quite possible that b’mo is intended as a play upon the name Moab, just as the word m admenah may possibly have been chosen with a play upon the Moabitish Madmen (Jer 48:2). In Isa 25:11 Jehovah would be the subject, if b’kirbo (in the midst of it) referred back to Moab; but although the figure of Jehovah pressing down the pride of Moab, by spreading out His hands within it like a swimmer, might produce the impression of boldness and dignity in a different connection, yet here, where Moab has just been described as forced down into the manure-pit, the comparison of Jehovah to a swimmer would be a very offensive one. The swimmer is Moab itself, as Gesenius, Hitzig, Knobel, and in fact the majority of commentators suppose. “ In the midst of it: ” b’kirbo points back in a neuter sense to the place into which Moab had been violently plunged, and which was so little adapted for swimming. A man cannot swim in a manure pond; but Moab attempts it, though without success, for Jehovah presses down the pride of Moab in spite of its artifices , as in Neh 5:18; , written with dagesh (according to the majority of MSS, from , like the Arabic urbe , irbe , cleverness, wit, sharpness), i.e., the skilful and cunning movement of its hands. Saad. gives it correctly, as m uchatale , wiles and stratagems; Hitzig also renders it “machinations,” i.e., twistings and turnings, which Moab makes with its arms, for the purpose of keeping itself up in the water. What Isa 25:11 affirms in figure, Isa 25:12 illustrates without any figure. If the reading were , the reference would be to Kir-Moab (Isa 15:1; Isa 16:7). But as the text stands, we are evidently to understand by it the strong and lofty walls of the cities of Moab in general.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
Verse 10-12
1) Here it will be noted that the hand (power) of Jehovah’s governing authority is manifested “from Mt Zion” where He will then dwell, (Verse 10; Isa 2:2-4; Isa 27:13; Joe 3:16-17).
2) He will spoil this corrupter of morals, and bring down her pride (Numbers 22-24; Numbers Verse11; Zep 2:9-10).
3) The fortress of her high walls, wherein she trusted, will be laid low – even to the dust, (Verse 12).
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
10. For the hand of Jehovah shall rest. The design of the Prophet in the beginning of this verse, I have no doubt, was to comfort the godly, who but for this would have thought that God had forsaken and abandoned them; for the opinion of those who view it as describing the judgment which the Lord was about to execute on the Jews, has no foundation whatever; but the meaning is the same as if he had said, that the Lord will always assist his Church. I am aware that “the hand of God” rests also on the reprobate, when he does not cease to pursue them with his vengeance, till he completely overwhelm them; but here the word “hand” denotes assistance, and not chastisements, and therefore by the word “rest,” is meant the uninterrupted continuance of defense or protection.
We draw from this a profitable doctrine, that although God scatters innumerable blessings over the whole world, in such a manner that wicked men also obtain a share of them, yet his “hand” does not “rest,” or is not continually present, but in the holy mountain; that is, in the Church, where he is worshipped. It ought also to be observed, that Jerusalem had been chastised, before she received these blessings; for he had formerly threatened chastisements and punishments, to which he added this consolation.
And Moab shall be trodden down under him. In this clause he gives an additional view of the grace of God; for, by inflicting punishment on the enemies of the Church, he will shew how dearly he values its salvation. The Jews had no enemies more deadly than the Moabites, though their ancestors (150) were near relatives. By a figure of speech ( συνεκδοχικῶς) in which a part is taken for the whole, he includes under this name all the enemies of the Church, and especially those who are somewhat related to them, and who are more destructive than all others. He shews that, though for a time they are victorious and oppress the Church, yet eventually they shall be punished. His object is, that under their afflictions believers may not lose heart, as if their condition were unhappy, while wicked men are cheerful and prosperous; for the “treading down,” which is here mentioned, will quickly follow. Consequently, if at the present day we see the Church disturbed and oppressed by those who are somewhat related to us, and who even assume the name and title of the Church, let us comfort our hearts by this promise.
As straw is trodden down in the dunghills. (151) The word מדמנה, ( Mădmēnāh,) which we translate “dunghill,” (152) is supposed by some to be the name of a city, which is also mentioned by Jeremiah, (Jer 48:2.) But what if we should say that the Prophet alludes to the city, which was probably situated in a fertile soil, and thus conveys a stronger censure, and presses harder on the Moabites? As if he had said, “As straw is trodden down in their fields, so will the Lord tread down the Moabites.” I do not dislike other interpretations, but consider it to be not improbable that he alludes to the fertility of the soil in which that city was situated. Yet in my version I have not hesitated to follow the common opinion.
(150) Bogus footnote
(151) Bogus footnote
(152) Bogus footnote
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
THE PROTECTING HAND
Isa. 25:10. For in this mountain shall the hand of the Lord rest.
Rest! As a fathers hand on the head of his first-born, blessing and protecting his child. That mountain is impregnable which rests under the shadow of Gods hand.
I. Of every enterprise we should ask, Is it right? If wickedness be in the mountain, Gods protecting hand will not rest upon it. A just cause creates a good conscience, and hence inspires strength. It is only the just man who feels that God teaches his hands to war and his fingers to fight, so that a bow of steel is broken by his arms. The righteous is bold as a lion. The good man can patiently wait and confidently expect Gods blessing (Jas. 5:7).
II. Material force allied with injustice will eventually become weak as straw, vile as a dung-heap. The strong places of Moab had no inherent lastingness, because built in a godless spirit (Psa. 127:1).
III. Forts and castles, ironclads and armies, can never save an unrighteous nation from decay. National selfishness, oppressive enterprises, weaken the strongest defences, corrupt the richest treasures. Babylon became a marsh, Nineveh a forsaken mound, Tyre a deserted rock. In the colloseum at Rome where martyrs bled, the fox, the bat, and the owl now make their home. The walls of Moab were levelled with the dust. By justice only can peoples be strong. If God be in the city, its walls will be lasting as the hills.William Parkes.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
3. JUBILATION FOR JEHOVAHS PREDOMINANCE
TEXT: Isa. 25:10-12
10
For in this mountain will the hand of Jehovah rest; and Moab shall be trodden down in his place, even as straw is trodden down in the water of the dunghill.
11
And he shall spread forth his hands in the midst thereof, as he that swimmeth spreadeth forth his hands to swim; but Jehovah will lay low his pride together with the craft of his hands.
12
And the high fortress of thy walls hath he brought down, laid low, and brought to the ground, even to the dust.
QUERIES
a.
Why single out Moab for judgment by Jehovah?
b.
Why is Moab depicted as swimming?
PARAPHRASE
Yes, in Mount Zion the victorious, festive presence of God will be residing. But all His enemies, like Moab, will be crushed and cast down in their own filth like straw is cast out and kicked into the miry dungpit. Jehovahs enemy, Moab, will make great effort to save herself; like a swimmer to keep from drowning spreads her arms and makes frantic effort to save herself. However, Jehovah will make a mockery of Moabs pride by humiliating her and foiling all her crafty plots to save herself. Yes, Moab, your walls, high and fortified, will be thrown down, completely laid low, scattered over the earth and ground into dust.
COMMENTS
Isa. 25:10 STAGGERED: This mountain has as its antecedent Zion. The tender hand of God will rest in mercy upon Zion, wiping away every tear. But, and the contrast is the point, the hand of Gods judgment will rest upon Mount Moab. Those in covenant relationship with Jehovah will be protected, sustained and feted. Those not in covenant with Him will be defeated. Moab had a long history of opposition to Jehovahs sovereignty (cf. our comments on Isaiah chapters 15 & 16, Vol. I). Moab probably represents all the enemies of Jehovahs covenant people. God will use secondary agents to bring about Moabs downfallBabylonians, Persians, Greeks and Romans will successively conquer and ravage the mountains and valleys east of the Jordan river. It will become a desolate, deprived and despised areaa haunt of jackals and other wild animals. It will be crushed and cast off like barnyard straw pitched into the dung pit. There it will be trodden under foot.
Isa. 25:11 STRUGGLING: Moab, in the midst of its own desolation and despicability, will make frantic effort to save itself. Like a swimmer in danger of drowning, Moab will call upon every device and crafty plot it knows to save itself. But none of it will avail, for Jehovah is omnipotent. This is the pointthe contrast between the high and exalted joy of Zion in its festive victory and the utter degradation and defeat of Moab.
Isa. 25:12 STRUCK DOWN: Moab was as proud as Edom of her fortifications. There, east of the Jordan, in the high cliffs and mountains of that region they built their walled cities. Military strategy has always been and always will be in troop-warfare, to occupy the high ground. Ancient cities and villages invariably sought hills and rises in the terrain upon which to build. But Moabs arrogance and threatening need not be feared by Gods elect for He will bring their enemies down to the dust of the earth. And so it has been through the ages. The faithful Covenant-God has protected and sustained and fed His kingdom upon the earth and it is alive and flourishing today. In contrast, those enemies who have threatened and warred against Gods kingdom have come and gone and dissolved into dust, one after another. So shall it ever be.
QUIZ
1.
Which mountain is referred to in Isa. 25:10?
2.
What is the point of this passage in connection with the rest of ch. 25?
3.
How will Jehovah accomplish the demise of Moab?
SPECIAL STUDY
COME TO THE FEAST . . . R.S.V.P.
Enjoyment of Gods provision is limited only to the invited guests response
by Paul T. Butler
You are cordially invited . . . or, The honor of your presence is requested. . . . This is the way an invitation to a special festal occasion usually starts. It may conclude with R.S.V.P. Repondez, sil vous plait (French for Please reply).
Come to the feast! has been the invitation of man to man since time began. There is no better opportunity for men to integrate their personalities, show their regard for one another, and help one another than at the festal table. Man has also learned to use the word feast in a figurative way to express the joyful experience he knows when he has nurtured his soul on something aesthetic or spiritual.
God, the omniscient Father, fully aware of mans frame of experience, sent His messengers in times past inviting men, Come to my feast! The amazing fact is, millions have rejected His invitation and most of those few who accept the invitation somehow miss the festivities.
The Christian life a feast
God ordained the physical feasts of the Jews for a purpose deeper than mere satisfaction of the flesh or of national pride. Passover, Pentecost, Tabernacles, and all the lesser festivities provided by the law pointed to a time of profound spiritual feasting when the Messiah was to come with His kingdom.
The prophets spoke figuratively and glowingly of the festal nature of the coming kingdom (Christian dispensation).
And in this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined (Isa. 25:6).
Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness (Isa. 55:2).
The Jewish nation, with the exception of a small remnant, misunderstood their own prophets and the typical nature of their own law. They were looking for a literal fulfillment of the types and prophecies. It was their desire that God should give them literal feasts, literal peace, literal prosperity, and a literal king.
Then Jesus came! He took up the figurative way of the prophets in speaking of the coming kingdom. He taught in parables that the kingdom-time would be a time of feasting. He intended that the people should anticipate a spiritual feast, but again most would not receive His words, for they looked for a literal fulfillment as their fathers had before them.
In Luk. 14:1 ff Jesus gives one of His longest dissertations on this subject. He had been invited to a Pharisees home to dine. While there He healed a man of dropsy. And as He observed men wrangling and striving over seats of honor at the Pharisees table, He taught that humility marked the proper decorum for dining. He also attacked the social injustices against the poor.
The miraculous healing; the talk of honored seats; the attack upon social injustices; all caused one of the Pharisees guests to jump up excitedly and cry, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.
This guest was sure the Prophet of Nazareth was giving instructions in protocol for the soon-to-be-established kingdom of the Messiah in Jerusalem, and he was overcome with the anticipation of it all. So Jesus took this occasion to teach that the call to the kingdom of God was a call to a great feast, but those who were first bidden refused to come. Others, out in the highways and hedges, were constrained to come. Those who were first bidden and refused shall not taste of His supper.
On several other occasions Jesus spoke of the kingdom in the figure of a feast (compare Mat. 22:1-14; Mat. 25:1-13).
Jesus spoke also of men eating His flesh and drinking His blood, and said that He was the manna come down out of heaven. In this He referred, of course, to men assimilating His word into their hearts and minds (compare Joh. 6:63). He spoke of men drinking from the effervescent water of life, meaning the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (compare Joh. 7:37-39).
The epistles testify to the festal nature of the Christian life. In 1Co. 5:6-8 we are exhorted to keep the feast with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. Paul did not mean to limit the feast to the Lords Supper. In 1Co. 10:1-5 Christians are told that they eat and drink the same spiritual food the Israelites shared in the wilderness.
Our spiritual feast
Now feasts are to be joyfully festive. Yet some Christians live the Christian life as if they were being force-fed some bitter medicinal compound. Christianity for them is a diet of unpalatable rules and regulationsof dos and donts. This is because some Christians, like the Jews of Jesus day, still have a materialistic concept of Christianity. That is, unless their Christianity affords some worldly joy, worldly fame, or worldly satisfaction, they all with one consent begin to make excuse. But, as Paul says, the kingdom of God is not food and drink, but righteousness and joy and peace in the Holy Spirit (compare Rom. 14:17). Or, as Jesus put it, man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from God (compare Mat. 4:4).
When we become Christians we have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the world to come (Heb. 6:1 ff). We join with angels in festal array when we come to Zion (the church) (Heb. 12:22-23). Paul said he fed the Corinthians on the milk of the word (1Co. 3:2) and the book of Hebrews speaks of the word in the same way (Heb. 5:12-14). Peter writes, As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: if so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious (1Pe. 2:2-3). Paul wrote, men should not become drunk with wine, but they should be filled with the Holy Spirit (Eph. 5:18). Jesus is the living water, and none shall ever hunger or thirst if they come to Him (Joh. 4:13-14). For, blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled (Mat. 5:6).
Studying and receiving the word is not all there is to the feast. Jesus tells us, My meat (food) is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work (Joh. 4:34). We must not only contemplate the festive table of Christianity, we must become participants. We shall never taste nor be filled until we partake.
R.S.V.P.
There are at least three reactions to Christs invitation to the sumptuous Christian feast.
Some refuse to come at all. Most of these seem to feel they have more satisfying things to do. Some think to satisfy their souls with power and the temporal security. Others think they may satisfy their souls with pleasures of the flesh. Still others seek to satisfy their souls with the vain glory of fame and pride. Little do they know that they are starving to death spiritually while feeding on husks. Isaiah in a Messianic context said, Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, my servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry: behold, my servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty: behold, my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed (Isa. 65:13).
Why do people spend their money (lifes energies and souls desires) for that which does not satisfy? Some discoverand most of them too latethat the bread of rebellion and worldliness does not satisfy the soul. Christ said that everyone who drinks of the water that is temporal will thirst again. Sooner or later the worldling finds that surfeiting himself on worldliness and sin has left only the taste of wormwood and bitterness in his heart. Jeremiah wrote, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall.
A second kind of response to the invitation is made by those who come to the feast but partake only of the rudimentary things. These are the Christians who stay on the same diet week after week. Rich fare is spread before their hearts and minds but they are so lazy they wish only to partake of that which is spoon-fed to them. They never know the thrill in going on to new heights of spiritual knowledge and experience. They never grow. They are satisfied to remain on their milk diet, never to partake of the meat of the word. For this reason many become spiritually weak and sickly, and some actually die a spiritual death (compare 1Co. 11:27-32). They will never mature into full-grown men in Christ (compare Eph. 4:11-16). It is not a lack of available food that causes so much sickness and trouble in the Christian body (the church). It is rather the laziness of the body to partake. Finally, there are those who come and are eager to partake of every rich dish set before them in this heavenly feast. Here is one place where a person can never eat too much! Before him are such tasty dishes as the joy of salvation; the peace and security found in Christ; the thrill of soul winning; the challenge of having a wisdom and knowledge which transcends the vastness of the universe or even our own thoughts; the satisfaction of having an eternal purpose; the eagerness of hope in sharing a future glory with Christ; the boldness we have in Christ our high priest; the anticipation of a heavenly inheritance; being in partnership with Goda colaborer in His eternal scheme of redemption; and comradeship with the redeemed both in heaven and on earth. These are just a few of the satisfying, rich dishes in the Christian feast. The table is prepared before you, there is heavenly bread and living water; there is fruit from the tree of life and the fruit of the Spirit. All things are ready, come to the feast!
If your Christian life is lacking in joy and festive spirit, it is not Gods fault. His table is bountiful and you are an invited, honored guest.
Perhaps in the past you have been pushing away His bountiful provision and have been eating at the devils table. Have you found that the devils table is filled with ashes and bread of mourningwith husks and pigs food? If you are a prodigal son, you need to return to the Fathers table. You need to come home rededicated, reconsecrated, ready to hear the Father as He commands to bring forth the robe, the ring, and the shoes, and to kill the fatted calf so that we may feast together.
Perhaps you have been sitting too lazily at the table and need to rouse yourself from your milk diet and partake of the rich satisfying, strengthening food that is there.
It may be that you have never accepted the Kings invitation to come to His feast at all. Would you refuse an invitation to dine with the President at the White House? I tell you a greater than the President has sent you a special invitation. The invitation of King Jesus is not to a select few. The invitation is printed, Whosoever will, let him come and take of the water of life freely.
The only requirement is that you put on the festive garment. In the parable Jesus told (Matthew 22) one was found at the kings feast without the proper garment and he was banished from the feast. But thanks be to God, our King has provided not only the feast but also the white robe to wear. You may put on this garment by faith and obedience to Christ, for it is through faith and obedience that we are united with His death, and there have our robes washed white in the blood of the Lamb.
All things are ready, come to the feast! R.S.V.P.!
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(10) Moab shall be trodden down . . .There seems at first something like a descent from the great apocalypse of a triumph over death and sin and sorrow, to a name associated with the local victories or defeats of a remote period in the history of Israel. The inscription of the Moabite stone, in connection with Isaiah 15, helps to explain the nature of the allusion. Moab had been prominent among the enemies of Israel; the claims of Chemosh, the god of Moab, had been set up against those of Jehovah, the God of Israel (Records of the Past, xi. 166), and so the name had become representative of His enemies. There was a mystical Moab, as there was afterwards a mystical Babylon, and in Rabbinic writings a mystical Edom (i.e., Rome). The proud nation was to lie wallowing in the mire of shame, trampled on by its s on the threshing-floor is trampled by the oxen till it looks like a heap of dung. In the Hebrew word for dunghill (madmnah) we may probably trace a reference to the Moabite city of that name (Jer. 48:2), in which Isaiah sees an unconscious prophecy of the future condition of the whole nation.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
10. In this mountain Zion, symbol again of God’s located presence and power, namely, his Church.
Hand rest The term “hand” is usually employed as an emblem of active power; it is here used as the pledge of the Church’s security from hostility without a protection, and that hostility to Zion the Jews more readily and keenly apprehended when it was expressed in connexion with a “household” name of an ever bitter enemy to the Jews. Usually that name was Edom or Moab. Here it is Moab. Moab’s hostility is to have the fate of the refuse, dirt, and filth of each Palestinian town removal to the dunghill, which to this day is everywhere in the villages a conspicuous object.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Isa 25:10-12. For in this mountain shall the hand of the Lord In these verses we have a confirmation of the proposition; and they contain two arguments for the confidence and rejoicing of the people of God; the one taken from Moab, Isa 25:10-11.; the other from the Babylonians, their true or mystical enemies. The judgment upon Moab is set forth under two figures; the first in the 10th verse, the meaning whereof is, that God would entirely tread down, break, and destroy the power of Moab, to their extreme disgrace. In the second, God is compared to a swimmer, swimming in the land of Moab as it were in a great sea or river, stretching forth his hands to the utmost limits of Moab, and beating down with his arms whatever opposed him. The single idea of the comparison rests in the stretching out the hands, and beating down with them the opposing water. We learn from the history of those times, that the Moabites were great enemies to, but were entirely subdued by, the Maccabees, who fought many battles with them, till at length they were discomfited, &c. See 1Ma 5:7, &c. Mystically, by the Moabites and Babylonians are to be understood the adversaries of the kingdom of Christ. Compare the 12th verse with the second, and see Vitringa.
REFLECTIONS.1st, We have here the triumphant song of God’s people for their deliverance; either that of the Jews, for the ruin of Babylon, and the destruction of the kings of Assyria; or that of the faithful for the fall of spiritual Babylon; or of both, the former being typical of the latter.
1. The prophet in the person of the people of God, resolves to praise and exalt the name of Jehovah, for all his wondrous works of mercy to his believing people, and judgment on their enemies, according to his faithfulness in the never-failing promises of his word. And nothing would engage him to this honourable work so heartily, as the consciousness of an interest in the favour of this glorious and exalted Jehovah, thou art my God, and I will praise thy name. Note; (1.) They who can say,
My God, are bound to praise him evermore. (2.) The wonders of providence and creation are marvellous; but those of redemption greater still, and will be the everlasting subject of the songs in glory.
2. He particularly mentions two instances of God’s faithfulness and truth, for which he would exalt him. (1.) For the destruction of the oppressor, thou hast made of a city, an heap, &c. As Babylon now is, Rome will be; the former was a palace of strangers, ch. Isa 23:13 so is the latter, succeeding to the former Pagan inhabitants: the one now lieth in ruins, and such will the fate of the other be, to perish for ever, and never be built again. (2.) For the protection of the poor, whose strength God is in every time of trouble, covering them as with a cloud from the scorching heat of temptation, and preserving them from the storm of the terrible ones, interposing, as a wall, to ward off the tempest. Thus God preserved his people in Babylon, and brought them out safely, and so will do under all the persecutions of antichrist; and, in general, under every distress, his people who fly to him will find him a very present help in trouble.
3. The effect of God’s interposition would be either the humiliation and conviction, or the utter ruin of his foes. They are called strong people, terrible nations, terrible ones; but however dreadful they may appear to others, they must stoop before God, and bow in fear before his rod of correction; repenting and glorifying his mercy, or breaking under the rod of his judgments, and glorifying his justice: their branch, or their song, brought low; either in the dust of abasement, or in the place of torment; where, as a branch cast out, they would be burned, and their mirth be changed into eternal mourning. Note; (1.) The formidable appearance of our foes is often ready to intimidate us; but if the Almighty God be for us, the terrible shall be brought low, and even death, the king of terrors, be subdued. (2.) When the judgments of God, however heavy, lead men to fear before him, and to do no more wickedly, they become the choicest blessings; and judgment, as well as mercy, shall then furnish matter for a song.
2nd, We have a key to open this scripture, 1Co 15:54 and see therein some of the great and precious promises of life and immortality brought to light by the Gospel.
1. Under the image of a royal feast, Mat 22:1; Mat 22:46 a view is presented to us of the Gospel-dispensation. The Lord of Hosts, the Lord Jesus, the great master of the feast in this mountain, the church of his faithful redeemed, makes unto all people a feast; some of all nations will partake of it, Gentiles as well as Jews; and the invitation thereto is universal, whosoever will let him come; there is here enough and to spare; for it is a feast of fat things, full of marrow, and of wine on the lees well refined, plenty, and of the best sort, is provided; there is nothing wanting which a soul hungering and thirsting after righteousness can need; pardon, peace, grace, strength, consolation, glory; all are ready, and a more refreshing provision to the soul, than the best-spread table to the famished; or than the strongest wines to the faint. Blessed and happy are they, who sincerely accept of the invitation to this feast!
2. The Lord Jesus will also destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people: as malefactors led to execution with their faces covered, so had the sons of men by sin forfeited their lives to divine justice; or as the dead wrapped in grave-clothes, so were we dead in trespasses and sins, till Christ, first in promise, and then in reality, came to redeem us from going down to the pit, by paying the ransom for us, and also to rescue us from the death of sin by his quickening Spirit: and the vail that is spread over all nations, of gross darkness and spiritual ignorance, will soon be dispelled before him the Light of life, like the shadows of the night before the rising sun.
3. Even death itself shall be a vanquished foe. He will swallow up death in victory; not only by his own resurrection leading captivity captive, and quickening his people dead in trespasses and sins; but by the final destruction of death, when all the bodies which sleep in dust shall rise at the great day of Jesus’s appearing and glory, and especially those of his saints shall be raised to glory and honour, and mortality be thus swallowed up of life. Note; (1.) What joy and consolation does the faith of Jesus impart, which thus enables us to triumph over the king of terrors, and cry, O death, where is thy sting? (2.) Whatever burdens this corruptible body feels now, we may well say they are light afflictions which endure but for a moment; and we may patiently and cheerfully endure them, because of our hope in the end of a glorious resurrection.
4. All grief and shame will then be done away. As a tender parent, our divine Lord shall dry up his children’s tears; no sins will then awaken their sorrows, or afflictions disturb their repose; no reproach blacken their character, or oppressor vex and grieve them, but everlasting joy be upon their heads; their beauty of holiness without spot; and their enemies will behold them clothed with glory, and wonder and perish. How light then should every sorrow sit, how easy ought we to be under the malignant aspersions or perverse unkindness of men, when we shall in a moment come to endless bliss, and shine as stars in the firmament for ever and ever?
5. Great will be the joy of the faithful in that day. By faith and hope, they often triumphed here below; but the consummation of their bliss in glory they waited and devoutly wished for. And lo! glad tidings of great joy; he is come! he is come! this is our God, our Jesus, our salvation, our joy; eternity shall hear his praise. Note; (1.) They who by faith wait in hope shall not be disappointed. (2.) In glory all the praise will be ascribed to Jesus, and every crown be laid at his blessed feet.
6. The perpetuity of this blessedness in glory is ensured by the Lord’s dwelling in the midst of his faithful people. In this mountain his hand shall rest, his presence be ever manifested, his power engaged to preserve them, and all his goodness to make them eternally happy.
7. The enemy shall be utterly destroyed. Moab, the representative of all the foes of God’s church and people, spiritual and temporal, shall be trodden down, as mire in the street. As the swimmer spreads his hands, so will the Lord stretch forth his arm of vengeance, executing his judgment on the proud, and spoiling the spoiler. All the fortresses of Moab shall fall, and their utter destruction be certain, sudden, and irrecoverable. And thus shall all the antichristian powers perish at last, and Satan, death, and hell, be cast together into the burning lake, Rev 19:20; Rev 20:14-15.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Reader! I must not swell my Poor Man’s Commentary: I only, therefore; detain you, to observe on these verses, that the Lord hath uniformly, through all the Bible, connected the subject of destruction to his foes, and the foes of his Church, with the salvation of his people. And however m en may amuse themselves with hopes, like the spider’s web, that peace and safety shall be their portion; yet the enemies of God, and of his Christ, must be found liars. When Jehovah first made known, what had lain in his bosom from all eternity, the setting up his dear Son as the Head of his Church, the devil set up his kingdom against him: all, therefore, that oppose Christ are taking part with that apostate spirit, and, if living and dying in his service and kingdom, can have no inheritance in the kingdom of God, and of his Christ. All, therefore, of this description, will be trodden down, as straw is trodden own for the dunghill. Awful consideration!
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Isa 25:10 For in this mountain shall the hand of the LORD rest, and Moab shall be trodden down under him, even as straw is trodden down for the dunghill.
Ver. 10. For in this mountain. ] In the Church. as Isa 25:6-7
Shall the hand of the Lord rest,
And Moab shall be trodden down,
As straw for the dunghill.
a Junius.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Moab. as straw. for the dunghill. Note the Figure of speech Homoeopropheron (App-6). Moab. mathben, beMo Madmenah. which occurs only here, is used to complete the Figure of speech Homoeopropheron. See above.
trodden down = beaten to pieces by treading.
for the dunghill = in Madmenah, as in Isa 10:31 and Jer 48:2, Revised Version quite wrong, “in the water of the dunghill”. Dung is never watered in the East, but dried, and used as fuel (Eze 4:15), and is found only in the streets of towns and villages. In Psa 83:10 “earth” is adamah = ground. See note there.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
in this: Isa 25:6, Isa 11:10, Isa 12:6, Isa 18:4, Psa 132:13, Psa 132:14, Eze 48:35, Zep 3:15-17, Zec 9:9-11
Moab: Isa 11:14, Isa 15:1 – Isa 16:14, Num 24:17, Zep 2:9
trodden down: or, threshed, Isa 41:15, Isa 41:16, Mic 4:13
even: Isa 5:25, Isa 10:6, Isa 14:19, Isa 26:6, Psa 83:10, Lam 1:15
for the dunghill: or, in Madmenah, Isa 10:31, Jer 48:2
Reciprocal: Jdg 5:21 – O my soul Jdg 15:8 – General 2Ki 7:17 – the people trode upon him 2Ki 9:33 – and he trode Psa 18:42 – cast Psa 74:3 – Lift Psa 108:13 – tread Psa 119:118 – trodden Isa 5:5 – trodden down Isa 16:4 – oppressors Isa 22:5 – treading Isa 24:21 – the Lord Isa 28:3 – shall Isa 63:3 – trodden Isa 63:6 – I will bring Jer 25:21 – Moab Jer 48:1 – Moab Jer 50:26 – cast her up Eze 25:8 – Moab Amo 2:1 – of Moab Mic 1:3 – and tread Mic 7:10 – now Zec 10:5 – tread Mal 4:3 – tread down
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Isa 25:10. For in this mountain In the gospel church; (he alludes to mount Zion, which was a type of it;) shall the hand of the Lord rest His powerful and gracious presence (which is often signified in Scripture by Gods hand) shall have its constant and settled abode: it shall not move from place to place, as it formerly did, with the tabernacle; nor shall it depart as it did from Jerusalem, but shall continue in his church, even to the end of the world, Mat 28:20. And Moab shall be trodden down under him. Under his feet, as appears by the following similitude. The Moabites, having been constant and implacable enemies to Israel, are here put for all the enemies of Gods church, as the Edomites upon the same account are, chap. 34:6, and 63:1. Even as straw is trodden down Even as easily and effectually as the straw, left upon the ground, is trampled upon by the feet of men and beasts.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
25:10 For on this mountain shall the hand of the LORD rest, and {l} Moab shall be trodden down under him, even as straw is trodden down for the {m} dunghill.
(l) By Moab are meant all the enemies of his Church.
(m) There were two cities by this name: one in Judah, 1Ch 6:81 and another in the land of Moab, Jer 48:2 which seems to have been a plentiful place of corn, Isa 36:17 .
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The reason for their rejoicing is that God’s hand of blessing that will rest on Zion then. In contrast, Moab, representing the godless nations antagonistic to Israel in the parallel oracle (chs. 15-16), will suffer judgment and humiliation under His foot. The mountains of Moab are visible to the east from the mountains surrounding Jerusalem.
"The same pride which held Moab back from seeking security in the divine promises in an earthly crisis (cf. Isa 16:6) will exclude Moab from partaking of the heavenly promises. This is the ultimate tyranny of false choices." [Note: Motyer, p. 211.]