Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 28:12
To whom he said, This [is] the rest [wherewith] ye may cause the weary to rest; and this [is] the refreshing: yet they would not hear.
12. To whom he said ] Rather: He who said to them. The verse reproduces the tenor and aim of all Isaiah’s teaching (cf. Isa 28:16; ch. Isa 30:15). He had sought to point out the true way of rest for the exhausted nation by abstinence from the spirited foreign policy advocated by the anti-Assyrian faction. Two translations, however, are possible. Either: “This (Jerusalem) is the resting-place; give rest to the weary; and this is the place of refreshment”; or: This ( line of action) is the ( true) rest and this is the ( true) refreshment. The latter seems preferable. The word for “rest” (usually “resting-place”) is used in the same sense as here in 2Sa 14:17. “The weary” is the ordinary plebeian, who had everything to lose and nothing to gain, by the chances of war.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
To whom he said – To whom God had said; that is, to the Jews. He had taught them the way of rest through the prophets, but they had refused to learn.
This is the rest – That is, this is the true way of happiness, to wit, by keeping the commands of God which had been so often repeated as to become to them objects of satiety and disgust.
This is the refreshing – This is the way in which the mind may be comforted.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Isa 28:12
This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest
Rest in Christ
That these words are to be interpreted as relating to Jesus Christ is manifest both from the preceding and subsequent context, and from the general tenor of the Word of God.
The doctrine of salvation through the Messiah opens the sources of genuine happiness to believing men. This is eminently the rest,–it is here alone that they can find satisfaction.
I. THE NATURE OF THAT REST WHICH IS ENJOYED IN CHRIST. The term rest is here employed to denote spiritual enjoyment: it imports that unspeakable delight and satisfaction with which a believing soul reposes itself in Christ Jesus, as its portion and happiness, its all and in all. This is a rest far more refreshing than the most seasonable relief from bodily labours or temporal troubles–no created good can at all be compared with it. It exclusively deserves the name of the rest, as everything else which assumes the appearance of rest is ideal, and this only is real and substantial.
1. What are the sources of spiritual rest? This rest arises from–
(1) A spiritual discovery of the infinite excellence of the Redeemers person. When the enlightened believer is possessed with a sense of the glories of Christs person, all created glory vanishes, as the stars do before the sun.
(2) A view of the all-atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christi Consider three important particulars in the sacrifice of Christ,–its inherent and infinite merit, the authority by which it is appointed, and the public declaration which has been given of its acceptance.
2. The effects with which this rest is accompanied.
(1) Pardon of sin.
(2) Acceptance with God, and the enjoyment of His special favour and love.
(3) Deliverance from the reigning power and dominion of sin.
(4) The delightful prospect of eternal happiness in Heaven.
II. THE CHARACTER OF THE PERSONS FOR WHOM THIS REST IS PROVIDED. The weary. Under this description we may include–
1. All unregenerated sinners to whom this rest is offered. They are represented as wearying themselves with very vanity (Hab 2:13), wearying themselves to commit iniquity. (Jer 9:5), and as wearying God (Isa 7:13; Isa 43:24). To all persons of this description spiritual rest is offered; but it will never be relished till the sinner is united to the Saviour.
2. We are principally to understand by the term weary, all the children of God who are heavy laden with their spiritual burdens. They are weary–
(1) With a sense of aggravated guilt.
(2) With the conflict which they maintain with sin and Satan.
(3) With their crying under the hidings of Gods face (Psa 13:1; Psa 77:7-10).
(4) With those disquieting fears of death where: with they are harassed. (T. Chalmers, D. D.)
Christ the rest-giver
Talleyrand said, Life is one long fatigue. Christ wishes to make it one long rest. (Mrs. Skinner.)
Rejecters of the Gospel admonished
Isaiah was one of the most eloquent of preachers, yet he could not win the ears and hearts of those to whom he spoke. It was not the fault of the preacher that Israel rejected his warnings: all the fault lay with that disobedient and gainsaying nation. The people to whom he spoke so earnestly were drunken in a double sense.
(1) They were overcome with wine (verses 7, 8).
(2) They were also intoxicated with pride. The two forms of drunkenness are equally destructive.
I. THE EXCELLENCE OF THE GOSPEL. This Scripture does not allude to the Gospel primarily, but to the message which Isaiah had to deliver, which was in part the command of the law and in part the promise of grace; but the same rule holds good of all the words of the Lord; and, indeed, any excellence which was found in the prophets message is found yet more abundantly in the fuller testimony of the Gospel in Christ Jesus.
1. The excellence of that Gospel lies in its object, for–
(1) It is a revelation of rest.
(2) It is the cause of rest.
(3) This rest is especially meant for the weary.
(4) In addition to bringing us rest, the message of mercy points us to a refreshing.
If the rested on should grow weary again, the Good Shepherd will give him refreshing; if he wanders, the Lord will restore him; if he grows faint He will revive him. Note, that Isaiah did not come to these people to talk about rest in dubious terms. No; he puts his finger right down on the truth, and says, This is the rest, and this is the refreshing. So we, when we come with a message from God, come with definite teaching. Nor did he preach a rest of a selfish character. That secret something which your own heart possesses shall enable you to communicate good cheer to many a weary heart, and hope to many a desponding mind.
2. The other excellence of the Gospel lies in its manner.
(1) It comes with authority.
(2) It was delivered with great simplicity. Isaiah came with it. precept upon precept, etc. It is the glory of the Gospel that it is so plain.
(3) It is taught us by degrees.
(4) The Gospel is repeated.
(5) It is brought home to us in ways suited to our capacity.
II. THE OBJECTIONS WHICH ARE TAKEN TO THE GOSPEL.
1. They are most wanton. Men object to that which promises them rest.
2. Wilful. This is the refreshing, yet they would not hear.
3. Wicked, because they are rebellion against God, and an insult to His truth and mercy.
4. These people raised objections that were the outgrowth of their pride. They objected to the simplicity of Isaiahs preaching. They said, Who is he? You should not go to hear him; he talks to us as if we were children. Besides, it is the same thing over and over again. Too many wish for a map to Heaven so mysteriously drawn that they may be excused from following it.
III. THE DIVINE REQUITAL OF THESE OBJECTIONS.
1. The Lord threatens them with the loss of that which they despised. In verse 20 he warns them that the shall have no rest henceforth For thy bed is shorter, etc.
2. They shall be punished by a gradual hardening of heart (verse 13). A fall backward is the worst kind of fall.
3. This is to be followed by a growing inability to understand (verse 11).
4. Whatever refuge they choose for themselves shall utterly fail them (verse 17). (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 12. This is the rest – “This is the true rest”] The sense of this verse is: God had warned them by his prophets that their safety and security, their deliverance from their present calamities and from the apprehensions of still greater approaching, depended wholly on their trust in God, their faith and obedience; but they rejected this gracious warning with contempt and mockery.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
To whom he said, to which people the Lord, by his minister, said,
This, this doctrine or precept, as it is expressed, Isa 28:9,10, or the word of the Lord, as it follows, Isa 28:13, is the rest; the only way, in the observation of which you will find rest and satisfaction.
Cause the weary to rest, Heb. cause the weary (understand either soul or country) rest. As rest is offered to you by the prophets in Gods name, do you embrace it; which is to be done by hearkening to Gods word, as appears by the following clauses. So shall this people, which hath been so oft and so long wearied and harassed by great and manifold calamities, find rest and peace.
Yet they would not hear; they are wilfully ignorant, and obstinately refused the very means of instruction.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
12. Rather, “He (Jehovah)who hath said to them.”
this . . . the restReferencemay be primarily to “rest” from national warlikepreparations, the Jews being at the time “weary” throughvarious preceding calamities, as the Syro-Israelite invasion (Isa7:8; compare Isa 30:15;Isa 22:8; Isa 39:2;Isa 36:1; 2Ki 18:8).But spiritually, the “rest” meant is that to be found inobeying those very “precepts” of God (Isa28:10) which they jeered at (compare Jer 6:16;Mat 11:29).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
To whom he said,…. Either the Lord himself, or the prophet Isaiah; or rather the Lord by him, and other prophets; so the Targum,
“to whom the prophets said;”
that is, the true prophets of the Lord said to the people, or to the priests and other prophets; or Christ and his apostles, as follows:
This [is] the rest [wherewith] ye may cause the weary to rest: and this [is] the refreshing: that is, by teaching the word of God, the true knowledge of him, and the sound doctrines of the Gospel, and the duties of religion; this would be the best way of casing and refreshing the minds and consciences of the people, burdened with a sense of sin, or distressed and disconsolate through afflictions and calamities upon them, and be the most effectual method of continuing them in ease and peace in their own land, and of preserving them from captivity, and other judgments threatened with; see Mt 11:28:
yet they would not hear; having no regard to the Lord and his prophets; nor any compassion to their countrymen, afflicted and distressed in mind or body; nor to the doctrine of Christ and his apostles.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
12. For he said to them. Some explain it by circumlocution in this manner: “If one should say to them, This is the rest, they refuse to hear.” But this is a feeble exposition, and does not connect the various parts of the passage in a proper manner. On the contrary, the Prophet assigns the reason why God appears to the Jews to be a barbarian: it is, because they had not ears. Words were spoken to the deaf. It was to no purpose that the Lord offered to them rest. This deafness arose from obstinacy, for they wickedly and rebelliously rejected doctrine. Their wickedness was doubly inexcusable in refusing rest which was offered to them, and which all men naturally desire. It was in itself intolerable baseness to be deaf to the voice of God speaking, but it was still more foul ingratitude deliberately to reject a blessing which was in the highest degree desirable. Accordingly, he points out the benefit which they might have derived from the obedience of faith, and of which they deprived themselves by their own wickedness. He therefore reproaches them with this ignorance and blindness; for it springs from their own stubbornness in maliciously turning away their eyes from the light which was offered to them, and choosing rather to remain in darkness than to be enlightened.
Hence it follows that unbelievers, as soon as God has exhibited to them his word, voluntarily draw down on themselves wretched uneasiness; for he invites all men to a blessed rest, and clearly points out the object by which, if we shape the course of our life, true happiness awaits us; for no man who has heard heavenly doctrine can go astray except knowingly and willingly. We learn from it how lovely in our eyes heavenly doctrine ought to be, for it brings to us the invaluable blessing of enjoying peace of conscience and true happiness. All confess loudly that there is nothing better than to find a place of security; and yet, when rest is offered, many despise it, and the greater part of men even refuse it, as if all men expressly desired to have wretched perplexity and continual trembling: and yet no man has a right to complain that he errs through ignorance; for nothing is clearer or plainer than the doctrine of God, so that it is vain for men to plead any excuse. In short, nothing can be more unreasonable than to throw the blame on God, as if he spoke obscurely, or taught in a confused manner. Now, as God testifies in this passage that he points out to us in his word assured rest, so, on the other hand, he warns all unbelievers that they suffer the just reward of their wickedness when they are harassed by continual uneasiness.
Cause the weary to rest. Some explain it thus, that God demands the duties of brotherly kindness, in order that he may be reconciled to us, and that those duties are here included, a part being taken for the whole. But I think that the Prophet’s meaning is different, namely, that God points out to us that rest by which our weariness may be relieved, and that consequently we are convicted of deeper ingratitude, if even necessity, which is a very sharp spur, does not quicken us to seek a remedy. This saying of the Prophet corresponds nearly to the words of Christ,
“
Come to me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Mat 11:28.)
In a word, Isaiah informs the Jews that they have this choice, “Do they prefer to be refreshed and relieved, or to sink under the burden and be overwhelmed?” This confirms a passing remark which I made a little before, that God does not in vain exhort those who seek repose to come to him, as we shall elsewhere see,
“
I have not in vain said to the house of Jacob, Seek me.” (Isa 45:19.)
Since, therefore, if we do not stand in the way, we shall be taught by his word, we may safely rely on the doctrine which is contained in it; for he does not intend to weary us out by vain curiosity, as men often draw down upon themselves much distress and anguish by idle pursuits.
Besides, when he shews that this rest is prepared for the weary who groan under the burden, let us at least be taught by the distresses which harass us to betake ourselves to the word of God, that we may obtain peace. We shall thus find that the word of God is undoubtedly fitted to soothe our uneasy feelings, and to give peace to our perplexed and trembling consciences. All who seek “rest” in any other way, and run beyond the limits of the word, must always be subjected to torture or wretched uncertainty, because they attempt to be wise and happy without God. We see that this is the condition of the Papists, who, having despised this peace of God, are wretchedly tormented during their whole life; for Satan tosses and drives them about in such a manner that they are tormented with dreadful uneasiness, and never find a place of rest.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
REJECTERS OF THE GOSPEL ADMONISHED
Isa. 28:12. To whom He said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.
Isaiah was one of the most eloquent of preachers, yet he could not win the ears and hearts of those to whom he spoke. He spoke more of Jesus Christ than all the rest of the prophets, yet the message of love was treated as though it were an idle tale. His doc trine was clear as the daylight, yet men would not see it (chap. Isa. 53:1). It was not the fault of the preacher that Israel rejected his warnings: all the fault lay with that disobedient and gainsaying nation. The people to whom he spoke so earnestly were drunken in a double sense:
1. They were overcome with wine (Isa. 28:7-8). How is it likely that the truth shall enter an ear which has been rendered deaf by this degrading vice? How is the Word of God likely to operate upon a conscience that has been drenched and drowned by strong drink? Flee from this destroyer before your bands are made strong and you are hopelessly fettered by the habit.
2. They were also intoxicated with pride. Their country was fruitful, and its chief city, Samaria, stood on the hill-top, like a diadem of beauty crowning the land, and they delighted in it. Among them were many champions whose strength sufficed to turn the battle to the gate, therefore they hoped to resist every invader, and so their hearts were lifted up. Moreover, they said, We are an intelligent people; we are men of cultured intellect, instructed scribes, and we do not need persons like Isaiah to weary us with their ding-dong of precept upon precept, line upon line, as if we were mere children at school. Besides, we are good enough. Do we not worship our God under the form of the golden calves in Dan and Bethel? Do we not respect the sacrifices and the holy days? So spoke the more religious of them, while the rest gloried in their shame. Being intoxicated with pride, it was not likely that they would hear the message of the prophet who bade them turn from their evil ways. Pride is the devils drag-net, in which he taketh more fishes than in any other, except procrastination.
The two forms of drunkenness are equally destructive. Whether body or soul be intoxicated, mischief will surely come of it. Let us not get drunk with pride because we are not drunkards; for if we are so vain and foolish, we shall as certainly perish by pride as we should have done by drink.
I. THE EXCELLENCE OF THE GOSPEL as it is set forth in the passage before us. This Scripture does not allude to the Gospel primarily, but to the message which Isaiah had to deliver, which was in part the command of the law and in part the promise of grace: but the same rule holds good of all the words of the Lord; and indeed any excellence which was found in the prophets message is found yet more abundantly in the fuller testimony of the Gospel in Christ Jesus.
1. The excellence of that Gospel lies, first, in its object. For
(1.) It is a revelation of rest. Christs ambassadors are sent to proclaim to you that which shall give you ease, peace, quiet, rest. It is true we have to begin with certain truths that disturb and distress; but our object is to dig out the foundation into which may be laid the stones of restfulness. The object of the Gospel is not to make men anxious, but to calm their anxieties; not to fill them with endless controversy, but to lead them into all truth. The Gospel gives rest of conscience, by the complete forgiveness of sin through the atoning blood of Christ; rest of heart, by supplying an object for the affections worthy of their love; and rest of intellect, by teaching it certainties which can be accepted without question. Our message does not consist of things guessed at by wit, nor evolved out of mans inner consciousness by study, nor developed by argument through human reason; but it treats of revealed certainties, absolutely and infallibly true, upon which the understanding may rest itself as thoroughly as a building rests upon a foundation of rock. The Word of the Lord comes to give believing men rest about the present by telling them that God ordereth all things for their good; and as for the future, it brightens all coming time and eternity with promises. The man who will hear the Gospel message, and receive it into his soul, shall know the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, and shall keep his heart and mind by Jesus Christ.
(2.) It is the cause of rest. This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest. The Gospel of our salvation is not only a command to rest, but it brings the gift of rest within itself. Let the Gospel be admitted into the heart, and it will create a profound calm, hushing all the tumult and strife of conscience, removing all apprehensions of Divine wrath, stilling all rebellion against the supreme Will, and so working in the spirit by the energy of the Holy Ghost a deep and blessed peace.
(3.) This rest is especially meant for the weary. This is the rest where with ye may cause the weary to rest. Oh, ye that are weary with the round of worldly pleasure, worn with ambition, fretted with disappointment, embittered by the faithlessness of those you trusted in, come and confide in Jesus and be at rest. Here is the rest, here is the refreshing. Jesus expressly puts it: Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Despondent and despairing, condemned, and in your own conscience cast out to the gates of hell, yet look to Jesus and rest shall be yours.
(4.) In addition to bringing us rest, the message of mercy points us to a refreshing. This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing. If the rested one should grow weary again, the Good Shepherd will give him refreshing; if he wanders, the Lord will restore him; if he grows faint, He will revive him; yea, He has begun His gracious work of renewing, and He will continue it by renewing the heart from day to day, blending the will with His own, and making the whole man more and more to rejoice in Him.
Now, note with peculiar joy that Isaiah did not come to these people to talk about rest in dubious terms, and say, There is no doubt a rest to be found somewhere in that goodness of God of which it is reasonable to conjecture. No; he puts his finger right down on the truth, and he says, This is the rest, and this is the refreshing. Even so we at this day, when we come to you with a message from God, come with definite teaching; we proclaim in the name of God that whosoever believeth in Christ Jesus hath everlasting life: this is the rest, and this is the refreshing.
Nor did he preach a rest of a selfish character. They say we teach men to get peace and rest for themselves, and make themselves comfortable, whatever becomes of others. They know better, and they forge these falsehoods because their heart is false. Are we not always bidding men look out from themselves, and love others even as Christ has loved them? We abhor the idea that personal safety is the consummation of a religious mans desires, for we believe that the life of grace is the death of selfishness. This is one of the glories of the Gospel, that this is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest. Get rest yourself, and you will soon cause other weary minds to rest. That secret something which your own heart possesses shall enable you to communicate good cheer to many a weary heart, and hope to many a desponding mind.
2. The other excellence of the Gospel of which I shall speak at this time lies in its manner.
(1.) It comes with authority. The Gospel does not pretend to be a speculative scheme or a theory of philosophy which will suit the nineteenth century, but will be exploded in the twentieth. No; it comes to men as a message from God, and he that speaks it aright does not speak it as a thinker uttering his own thoughts; but he utters what he has learned, and acts as Gods tongue, repeating what he finds in Gods Word by the power of Gods Spirit.
2. It was delivered with great simplicity. Isaiah came with it precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little and there a little. It is the glory of the Gospel that it is so plain. If it were so profound that we must take a degree at a university before we could comprehend it, what a miserable Gospel it would be for mocking the world with! But it is divinely sublime in its simplicity, and hence the common people hear it gladly. As the verse seems to imply, it is fitted for those who are weaned from the breast; those who are little more than babes may yet drink in this unadulterated milk of the Word. Many a little child has comprehended the salvation of Jesus Christ sufficiently to rejoice in it. I bless God for a simple Gospel, for it suits me, and thousands of others whose minds cannot boast of greatness or genius. It equally suits men of intellect, and it is only quarrelled with by pretenders. A man who really has a capacious mind is usually childlike, and, like Sir Isaac Newton, is glad to sit at Jesus feet. Great minds love the simple Gospel of God, for they find rest in it from all the worry and the weariness of questions and of doubts.
3. It is taught us by degrees. It is not forced home upon mens minds all at once, but it comes precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little and there a little. God does not flash the everlasting daylight on weak eyes in one blaze of glory, but there is at first a dim dawn, and the soft incoming of a tender light for tender eyes, and so by degrees we see.
4. The Gospel is repeated. If we do see it at once, it comes again to us, for it is precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little and there a little. From morning to morning, from Sunday to Sunday, by book after book, by text after text, by spiritual impression after spiritual impression, the Divine gentleness makes us wise unto salvation.
5. It is brought home to us in ways suitable to our capacity. It is told to us, as it were, with stammering lips (see Isa. 28:11), just as mothers teach their little children in a language all their own. In much of the Bible, especially in the Old Testament, God condescends to lay aside His own speech and talk the language of men. He bows to us and tells us His mind in types and ordinances, which are a sort of child-language fitted for our capacity. If you do not understand the Word of God, it is not because He does not put it plainly, but because of the blindness of your heart and the besotted condition of your spirit. Take heed that you are not drunken with the wine of pride, but be willing to learn; for God Himself hath not darkened counsel by mysterious words, but He has put His mind before you as plainly as the sun in the heavens. Precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little and there a little.
II. THE OBJECTIONS WHICH ARE TAKEN TO THE GOSPEL.
1. They are most wanton. Men object to that which promises them rest! Above all the things in the world this is what our troubled spirits need. Oh, the intense folly of men, that when the Gospel sets rest before them they will not hear it, but turn upon their heel. There is no system of doctrine under heaven that can give quiet to the conscience of men, quiet that is worth having, except the Gospel; and there are thousands of us who bear witness that we live in the daily enjoyment of peace through believing in Jesus, and yet our honest report is not believed; nay, they will not hear the truth.
2. Objections against the Gospel are wilful, even as it is here said, This is the refreshing, yet they would not hear. When men say they cannot believe the Gospel, ask them whether they will patiently hear it in all its simplicity. No, they say, they do not want to hear it. The Gospel is so difficult to believe; so they say. Will they come and hear it preached in its fulness? Will they read the Gospels for themselves carefully? Oh, no; they cannot take the trouble. Just so. But a man who does not want to be convinced must not blame anybody if he remains in error, nor wonder that objections swarm in his mind.
3. Such objections are wicked, because they are rebellion against God and an insult to His truth and mercy. If this Gospel be of God, I am bound to receive it: I have no right to cavil at it, nor raise questions, philosophical or otherwise. It is mine just to say, Does God say this and that? Then it is true, and I yield to it. Does the Lord thus set before me a way of salvation? I will run in it with delight.
4. These people raised objections that were the outgrowth of their pride. They objected to the simplicity of Isaiahs preaching. They said, Who is he? You should not go to hear him; he talks to us as if we were children. Besides, it is the same thing over and over again. You may go when you like, he is always harping on the same string. Have you not heard folks say in these days concerning a true Gospel preacher, that he is always preaching about sovereign grace, or the blood of Christ, or crying out, Believe, believe, and you shall be saved? They sneer and say, It is the old ditty over and over again. The passage translated precept upon precept, line upon line, was uttered in ridicule, and sounded like a ding-dong rhyme with which they mocked Isaiah. The words were intended to caricature the preacher; though they do not suggest the idea when translated, they do suggest it readily enough in the Hebrew. There are people now living who, when the Gospel is plainly and simply preached, exclaim, We want progressive thought; we wantthey do not quite know what they do want. Too many wish for a map to heaven so mysteriously drawn that they may be excused from following it. Multitudes prefer the Gospel shrouded in a mist; they love to see the wisdom of man shut out the wisdom of God. This was the style of objection current in Isaiahs day, and it is fashionable still.
III. THE DIVINE REQUITAL OF THESE OBJECTORS.
1. The Lord threatens them with the loss of that which they despised. He has sent them a message of rest and they will not have it, and therefore in the 20th verse He warns them that they shall have no rest henceforth: For the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it; and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it. All those who wilfully reject the Gospel and take up with philosophies and speculations will be rewarded with inward discontent. Ask the preachers of that kind of doctrine whether they themselves have found an anchorage, and as a rule they will answer, No, no; we are in pursuit of truth; we are hunting after it, but we have not reached it yet. They are never likely to reach it, for they are on the wrong track. The Gospel was made to rest conscience, soul, heart, will, memory, hope, fear, yea, the entire man; but when men laugh at all fixity of belief, how can they be rested? This is the condemnation of the unbeliever, that he shall never find a settlement, but, like the wandering Jew, shall roam for ever. Leave the Cross, and you have left the hinge of all things, and neglected the one sure corner-stone and fixed foundation, and henceforth you shall be as a rolling thing before the whirlwind.
2. They shall be punished by a gradual hardening of heart. They said that Isaiahs message was precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little and there a little, and justice answers them, Even so it shall be to you a thing despised and ridiculed, so that you will go farther away from it; you will fall backward and be broken, and snared and taken (Isa. 28:13.) A fall backward is the worst kind of fall. If a man falls forward, he may somewhat save himself and rise again; but if he falls backward, he falls with all his weight and is helpless. Those who stumble at Christ, the sure foundation-stone, shall be broken. When opposers hope to retrieve their position, they find themselves snared by their habits, entangled in the net of the great fowler, and taken by the destroyer. This downward course is followed full often by those who begin cavilling at a simple Gospel; they cavil more and more, and become its open enemies to their eternal ruin.
3. This is to be followed by a growing inability to understand. For with stammering lips and another tongue will He speak to this people. Since they would not hear plain speech, God will make simplicity itself to seem like stammering to them. Men that cannot endure simple language shall at last become unable to understand it. If men will not understand, they shall not understand. A man may shut his eyes so long that he cannot open them. In India many devotees have held up their arms so long that they can never take them down again. Beware lest an utter imbecility of heart come upon those of you who refuse the Gospel.
Lastly, this warning is given to those who object to the Gospel, that whatever refuge they choose for themselves shall utterly fail them. Thus saith the Lord, Judgment will I also lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding-place. Down come the great hailstones dashing everything to shivers, the threatenings of Gods Word breaking to pieces all the false and flattering hopes of the ungodly. Then comes the active wrath of God like an over whelming flood to sweep away everything on which the sinner stood, and he, in his obstinate unbelief, is carried away as with a flood into that utter destruction, that everlasting misery, which God has declared shall be the lot of all those who refuse the living Christ.C. H. Spurgeon: Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, No. 1593.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(12) To whom he said, This is the rest . . .The prophet vindicates himself against the charge of being a repeater of wearisome messages of rebuke. Rather had he pointed the way to a time of repentance, and therefore of rest and refreshment. But to this also they closed their ears. They had but one formula of derision, whatever might be the subject of the prophets teaching; and the prophet, with all the scorn of irony, repeats that formula in the words that follow.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
This is a blessed verse, which comes in like some precious cordial to a dying man, who had been fainting before under afflictions all around. But, Reader! who is the person here spoken of, to whom he said? W ho is the He her e meant? I do not presume to determine, but, I venture to believe, that it is He who guided the prophet Isaiah’s pen, even God the Holy Ghost. And who, and what, is the rest to whom the prophet was to direct the people; and at a time when their own prophets and priests, by their errors and drunkenness, could not teach knowledge? Who could this be, but thee, thou blessed Jesus, who in the days of thy flesh didst invite to come to thee, the weary and heavy laden, and they should find rest to their souls? Mat 11:28-29 . Reader! do you know Jesus, under this character? Have you come to him, and found him indeed the refreshing? Oh! how blessed, under all the storms and disquietudes of life, to say, with one of old, Return unto thy rest, unto thy Jesus, my soul; for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee! Psa 116:7 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Isa 28:12 To whom he said, This [is] the rest [wherewith] ye may cause the weary to rest; and this [is] the refreshing: yet they would not hear.
Ver. 12. To whom he said, This is the rest, ] i.e., The ready way to “find rest to your souls” as Mat 11:28-29 – sc., by obeying my precepts, and embracing my promises.
Wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest,
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
To whom He said: or, He (Jehovah) Who said to them: i.e. by His prophets (Isa 7:4; Isa 8:6; Isa 30:15).
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
This: Isa 30:15, 2Ch 14:11, 2Ch 16:8, 2Ch 16:9, Jer 6:16, Mat 11:28, Mat 11:29
yet: Psa 81:11-13, Jer 44:16, Zec 7:11, Zec 7:14, Heb 12:25
Reciprocal: Num 10:33 – a resting place Isa 29:12 – I am not Isa 30:7 – Their Luk 14:18 – all 1Co 14:21 – With 2Ti 4:3 – they will Heb 4:3 – we
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
28:12 To whom {l} he said, {m} This [is] the rest [with which] ye may {n} cause the weary to rest; and this [is] the refreshing: yet they would not hear.
(l) That is, the prophet, whom God would send.
(m) This is the doctrine on which you ought to stay and rest.
(n) Show to them that are weary and have need of rest, what the true rest is.