I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron:
2, 3. Speaking directly to His Anointed, Jehovah assures him of His continued support in the enterprise that still lies before him.
the crooked places ] Lit. “protuberances” or, “swells.” The original word (see on ch. Isa 63:1), which does not occur elsewhere as a noun, appears to mean “swollen” or “tumid”; and denotes “hills.” Comp. Ovid Amor. 11. 16. 51 (“tumidi subsidite montes”) and Milton’s
“So high as heaved the tumid hills, so low
Down sunk a hollow bottom broad and deep.”
( Paradise Lost, Bk. VII. 288.)
the gates (R.V. doors) of brass ] Babylon had 100 gates “all of brass,” according to the description of Herodotus (I. 179). Cf. Psa 107:16.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
I will go before thee – To prepare the way for conquest, a proof that it is by the providence of God that the proud conquerors of the earth are enabled to triumph. The idea is, I will take away everything that would retard or oppose your victorious march.
And make the crooked paths straight – (See the note at Isa 40:4). The Chaldee renders this, My word shall go before thee, and I will prostrate the walls. Lowth renders it, Make the mountains plain. Noyes, Make the high places plain. The Septuagint renders it, Ore homalio – Level mountains. Vulgate, Gloriosos terroe humiliabo – The high places of the earth I will bring down. The word hadurym is from hadar, to be large, ample, swollen, tumid; and probably means the swollen tumid places, that is, the hills or elevated places; and the idea is, that God would make them level, or would remove all obstructions out of his way.
I will break in pieces the gates of brass – Ancient cities were surrounded by walls, and secured by strong gates, which were not unfrequently made of brass. To Babylon there were one hundred gates, twenty-five on each side of the city, which, with their posts, were made of brass. In the circumference of the walls, says Herodotus (i. 179), at different distances, were a hundred massy gates of brass, whose hinges and frames were of the same metal. It was to this, doubtless, that the passage before us refers.
The bars of iron – With which the gates of the city were fastened. One method of securing the gates of fortified places among the ancients, was to cover them with thick plates of iron – a custom which is still used in the East, and seems to be of great antiquity. We learn from Pitts, that Algiers has five gates, and some of these have two, some three other gates within them, and some of them plated all over with iron. Pococke, speaking of a bridge near Antioch, called the iron bridge, says, that there are two towers belonging to it, the gates of which are covered with iron plates. Some of these gates are plated over with brass; such are the enormous gates of the principal mosque at Damascus, formerly the church of John the Baptist (Paxton). The general idea in these passages is, that Cyrus would owe his success to divine interposition; and that that interposition would be so striking that it would be manifest that he owed his success to the favor of heaven. This was so clear in the history of Cyrus, that it is recognized by himself, and was also recognized even by the pagan who witnessed the success of his arms. Thus Cyrus says Ezr 1:2, Jehovah, God of heaven, hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth. Thus Herodotus (i. 124) records the fact that Harpagus said in a letter to Cyrus, Son of Cambyses, heaven evidently favors you, or you could never have thus risen superior to fortune. So Herodotus (i. 205) says that Cyrus regarded himself as endowed with powers more than human:, When he considered the special circumstances of his birth, he believed himself more than human. He reflected also on the prosperity of his arms, and that wherever he had extended his excursions, he had been followed by success and victory.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Isa 45:2-3
I will go before thee
God going before
Man must go.
Each man is accomplishing a journey, going through a process. The only question is, How? Man may go, either with God or without Him. Whether we go with God or without Him, we shall find crooked places.
I. We should regard the text as A WARNING. There are crooked places.
II. The text is also A PROMISE. I will go before thee. God does not say where He will straighten our path; He does not say how; the great thing for us to believe is that there is a special promise for us, and to wait in devout hope for its fulfilment. He who waits for God is not misspending his time. Such waiting is true living–such tarrying is the truest speed.
III. The text is also A PLAN. It is in the word before that I find the plan, and it is in that word before that I find the difficulty on the human side. God does not say, I will go alongside thee; we shall go step by step: He says, I will go before thee. Sometimes it may be a long way before us, so that we cannot see Him; and sometimes it may be just in front of us. But whether beyond, far away, or here close at hand, the great idea we have to live upon is that God goes before us.
1. Let us beware of regarding the text as a mere matter of course. There is an essential question of character to be settled. The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord.
2. Let us beware of regarding this text as a licence for carelessness Let us not say, If God goes before me, and makes all places straight why need I care? To the good man all life is holy; there is no step of indifference; no subject that does not bring out his best desires. The place whereon thou standest is holy ground is the expression of every man who knows what it is to have God going before him. (J. Parker, D. D.)
Treasures of darkness
If we be Zions pilgrims, heavenward bound, we shall find the need of such promises, in their spiritual fulfilment, as God here gave to Cyrus.
I. GODS PRELIMINARY WORK in going before His people, making for them crooked places straight, breaking in pieces gates of brass, and cutting in sunder bars of iron.
1. The first promise lays a foundation for all the rest; I will go before thee. How great must those difficulties be which need God Himself to go before us in order to overcome them! Surely they must be insuperable by any human strength. If we are rightly taught, we shall feel a need for the Lord to go before us, not only now and then, but every step of the way, for unless led and guided by Him, we are sure to go astray. How strikingly was this the case with the children of Israel. You may apply this promise to a variety of things.
(1) It is applicable not only to spiritual, but to temporal trials and perplexities–to His going before us both in providence and grace.
(2). But the words apply to the manifestation of His holy and sacred will.
(3) It is especially in the removal of obstructions that the Lord fulfils this part of the promise.
2. And make crooked things straight. This promise springs out of the former, and is closely connected with it; for it is only by the Lord s going before that things really crooked can be straightened. But what is meant by crooked places, and whence come they?
(1) Some are inherently crooked, that is, it is in their very nature to be so. Thus crooked tempers, dispositions, desires, wills, lusts are in themselves inherently crooked, because being bent out of their original state by sin, they do not now lie level with Gods holy will and Word.
(2) But there are crooked places in the path of Gods family, which are not inherently crooked as being sinful in themselves, but are crooked as made so by the hand of God to us. Of this kind are afflictions in body and mind, poverty in circumstances, trials in the family, persecution from superiors or ungodly relatives, heavy losses in business, bereavement of children, and, in short, a vast variety of circumstances curved into their shape by the hand of God, and so made. crooked things to us. Now, the Lord has promised, to make crooked things straight. Taken in its fullest extent, the promise positively declares that from whatever source they come, or of whatsoever nature they be, the Lord will surely straighten them. By this He manifests His power, wisdom, and faithfulness. But how does He straighten them? In two ways, and this according to their nature. Sometimes by removing them out of the way; and sometimes by reconciling our minds to them.
3. But the Lord also promised Cyrus that He would, by going before him, break in pieces the gates of brass, &c. Cyrus longed to enter the city of Babylon; but when he took a survey of the only possible mode of entrance, he saw it firmly closed against him with gates of brass and iron. Can we not find something in our experience which corresponds to this feeling in Cyrus? There is a longing in the soul after a certain object. We press forward to obtain it, but what do we find in the road? Gates of brass and bars of iron. Look, for instance, at our very prayers. Are not the heavens sometimes brass over our heads, so that, as Jeremiah complains, they cannot pass through? Nay, is not your very heart itself sometimes a gate of brass, as hard, as stubborn, and as inflexible? So the justice, majesty, and holiness of God, when we view these dread perfections of Jehovah with a trembling eye under the guilt of sin, stand before the soul as so many gates of brass. The various enemies, too, which beset the soul; the hindrances and obstacles without and within that stand in the path; the opposition of sin, Satan, self, and the world against all that is good and godlike–may not all these be considered gates of brass barring out the wished-for access into the city?
4. But there are also bars of iron. These strengthen the gates of brass and prevent them from being broken down or burst open, the stronger and harder metal giving firmness and solidity to the softer and weaker one. An unbelieving heart; the secret infidelity of the carnal mind; guilt of conscience produced by a sense of our innumerable wanderings from the Lord; doubts and fears often springing out of our own want of consistency and devotedness; apprehensions of being altogether deceived, from finding so few marks of grace and so much neglect of watchfulness and prayer–all these may be mentioned as bars of iron strengthening the gates of brass. Now, can you break to pieces these gates of brass, or cut in sunder the bars of iron? Here, then, when so deeply wanted, comes in the promise, I will break, &c.
II. THE GIFTS WHICH THE LORD BESTOWS UPON THEM, when He has broken to pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron, here called treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places.
1. Treasures of darkness. But is not this a strange expression? How can there be darkness in the city of Salvation of which the Lord, the Lamb, is the eternal light? The expression does not mean that the treasures themselves are darkness, but that they were hidden in darkness till they were brought to light. The treasures of Belshazzar, like the Bank bullion, were buried in darkness till they were broken up and given to Cyrus. It is so in a spiritual sense. Are there not treasures in the Lord Jesus? Yet, all these are treasures of darkness, so far as they are hidden from our eyes and hearts, till we are brought by His special power into the city of Salvation.
2. But the Lord promised also to give to Cyrus the hidden riches of secret places, that is, literally, the riches of the city which were stored up in its secret places. But has not this, also a spiritual meaning? Yes. Many are the hidden riches of secret places with which the God of all grace enriches His believing family. Look, for instance, at the Word of God. But observe, how the promises are connected with crooked places, brazen gates, and iron bars, and the going before of the Lord to remove them out of the way. Without this previous work we should be ignorant to our dying day of the treasures of darkness; we should never see nor handle the hidden riches of secret places.
III. THE BLESSED EFFECTS PRODUCED by what the Lord thus does and thus gives–a spiritual and experimental knowledge, that He who has called them by their name is the God of Israel. Observe the expression, I, the Lord, which call thee by thy name. What an individuality it stamps on the person addressed! How it makes religion a personal thing! But what is produced by this special, individual, and personal calling? Knowledge. What knowledge? Spiritual, heartfelt, and experimental. Of what? That the Lord who called them by name is the God of Israel. It is as the God of Israel that He manifests mercy and grace; that He never leaves nor forsakes the objects of His choice; that He fulfils every promise, defeats every enemy, appears in every difficulty, richly pardons every sin, graciously heals every backsliding, and eventually lands them in eternal bliss. Now, perhaps, we can see why Gods people have so many gates of brass and bars of iron, so many trials and severe temptations. This is to bring them into personal acquaintance with God, the covenant God of Israel; to make religion a reality. (J. C. Philpot.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 2. The crooked places – “The mountains”] For hodurim, crooked places, a word not easily accounted for in this place, the Septuagint read hararim, , the mountains. Two MSS. have hadarim, without the vau, which is hardly distinguishable from the reading of the Septuagint. The Divine protection that attended Cyrus, and rendered his expedition against Babylon easy and prosperous is finely expressed by God’s going before him, and making the mountains level. The image is highly poetical: –
At vos, qua veniet, tumidi subsidite montes,
Et faciles curvis vallibus este viae.
OVID, Amor. ii. 16.
“Let the lofty mountains fall down, and make level paths in the crooked valleys.”
The gates of brass – “The valves of brass”] Abydenus, apud, Euseb. Praep. Evang. ix. 41, says, that the wall of Babylon had brazen gates. And Herodotus, i., 179. more particularly: “In the wall all round there are a hundred gates, all of brass; and so in like manner are the sides and the lintels.” The gates likewise within the city, opening to the river from the several streets, were of brass; as were those also of the temple of Belus. – Herod. i., 180, 181.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
I will go before thee, to remove all obstructions, and to prepare the way for thee, as it follows.
I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron; I will destroy all them that oppose thee, and carry thee through the greatest difficulties.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
2. crooked . . . straight(Isa 40:4), rather, “makethmountains plain” [LOWTH],that is, clear out of thy way all opposing persons and things. TheKeri reads as in Isa 45:13,”make straight” (Margin).
gates of brass (Ps107:16). HERODOTUS(1.179) says, Babylon had a hundred massive gates, twenty-five oneach of the four sides of the city, all, as well as their posts, ofbrass.
bars of ironwith whichthe gates were fastened.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight,…. Or, “level the hilly places” c; as pioneers do. The sense is, that he would remove all impediments and obstructions out of his way, and cause him to surmount all difficulties:
I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron; with which the brasen gates were barred: in the wall that surrounded Babylon there were a hundred gates, all made of solid brass, twenty five on each side of the square; which, no doubt, are here referred to; which could not hinder the entrance of Cyrus into the city, and the taking of it; though they were not then destroyed by him, but by Darius afterwards d these gates of brass are mentioned by Abydenus e, as made by Nebuchadnezzar, and as continuing till the empire of the Macedonians.
c The Septuagint render the word by , mountains; Gussetius by eminences, high places, such as stood in the way of passage into countries. The Vulgate Latin interprets it of glorious persons; and Abendana says it is right to understand it in this way; and applies it to Zerubbabel, and those that went up with him to Jerusalem, with the leave of Cyrus, who were good men, and honourable in their works, whom the Lord directed in their way right, and prospered them in the building of the temple, d Herodot. l. 1. c. 179. l. 3. c. 159. e Apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 9. c. 41. p. 457.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
2. and 3. I will go before thee. These two verses contain nothing new; but, in general, he shews that Cyrus will gain an easy and rapid victory, because he will have the Lord for the leader of his expedition. Accordingly he promises that all crooked paths shall be made straight, because God will remove every obstruction. Now, since money is the sinews of war, and Cyrus came from the scorched and poor mountains of Persia, Jehovah says that treasures which were formerly hidden and concealed shall come into the hands of Cyrus, so that, laden with rich booty, he shall have enough for defraying any expenditure; for by the treasures of darkness he means those which lay concealed, and as it were buried in safe and deep places of defense. It is abundantly clear from history, that all these things happened; for by taking Croesus, king of Lydia, who was at that time the richest of all men, he obtained large sums of money. Nor would any one have expected that he would gain victories so easily; and the reason of so great success is now added, because the Lord called and directed him, that he might give in him an illustrious demonstration of his power; for he adds —
That thou mayest know that I am Jehovah. True, Cyrus, as we formerly said, though he acknowledged that the God of Israel is the true God, and was filled with admiration, yet was not converted to him, and never embraced his pure worship according to the standard of the Law. This was therefore special knowledge, that is, so far as he assisted the Church, for whose deliverance he was appointed; and therefore it was necessary that he should be under the influence of this knowledge, in order that he might execute this work of God. Thus he does not speak of that knowledge by which we are enlightened, or about the Spirit of regeneration, but about special knowledge, such as men destitute of religion (194) may possess.
Calling thee by thy name. From some commentators this mode of expression has received a trivial interpretation, that “before Cyrus was born, God called and described him by his name.” But we have seen in a former passage, (Isa 43:1,) that the Prophet, while he used the same form of expression, meant something different; for God is said to “call by name” those whom he has chosen, and whom he appoints to perform some particular work, that they may be separated from the multitude. This word denotes closer and more familiar intercourse. Thus a shepherd is said to “call his sheep by name,” (Joh 10:3,) because he knows them individually. This applies indeed, in the highest degree, to believers, whom God reckons as belonging to his flock, and to the number of the citizens of his Church. God did not bestow this favor on Cyrus; but because, by appointing him to be the leader of so excellent a deliverance, he engraved on him distinguished marks of his power; with good reason is the commendation of an excellent calling applied to him.
The God of Israel. This ought to be carefully observed; for superstitious men ascribe to their idols the victories which they have obtained, and, as Habakkuk (Hab 1:16) says, “They sacrifice every one to his god;” and therefore they wander in their thoughts, and conceive in their hearts any deity that they fancy, while they ought to acknowledge that Jehovah is the only and true God. What is said of Cyrus ought to be much more applied to us, that we may not fashion any knowledge of God according to our fancy, but may distinguish him from idols, so as to embrace him alone, and to know him in Christ alone, apart from whom nothing but an idol, or even a devil can be worshipped. In that; respect, therefore, let us surpass Cyrus, to whom the knowledge of God was revealed, so that we may lay aside superstitions and all false worship, and may thus adore him in a holy and upright manner.
(194) “ Les profanes et incredules.” “Heathens and infidels.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
CROOKED PLACES MADE STRAIGHT
Isa. 45:2. I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight.
Man must go; the only question isHow? He may go, either with God, or without Him; God does not force Himself upon us. Whether we go with God, or without Him, we shall find crooked places. But having taken God as our leader, we have come to know what is the meaning of having these crooked places made straight for us. Straightness may be in apparent crookedness; amid all the curvature and intricacy, Christians have been brought through upon a course, that for all high purposesfilial education, spiritual culture, and strengthhas been practically and really straight. A child might go to the geographer, and say, What nonsense you talk about the earth being round! Look on this great crag; look on that deep dell; look on yonder great mountain, and the valley at its feet; and yet you talk about the earth being round! The geographers view is comprehensive; he sees a larger world than the child has had time to grasp. We should regard the text
I. AS A WARNING. There are crooked places. One could wish that we could make ones own the experience of those that have gone before; but each man must run his own course.
1. There are crooked dispositions,men of whom you can make nothing. Let the young, especially, be forewarned, and so forearmed. There are those to be met with in life, who, when you think you are walking in the line of their sympathies, will turn perversely upon you; men who, in the midst of your strenuous efforts to serve them, will be as unthankful and ungracious as the rock or the sand that is unblest by all the rich rains of Heaven.
2. There are crooked places in circumstances.
When we think we are proceeding most satisfactorily, we sometimes come to knots and difficulties of which we can make nothing.
3. Crooked places are found in the uncertainties of life. No man can certainly say what will transpire during the next hour; and so, again and again, to our disappointment and mortification, we are compelled to withdraw from our methods, and to abandon that on which we had set our heart.
II. AS A PROMISE. I will go before thee. This was a Divine promise made to Cyrus; and God has made the same promise to all who put their trust in Him. It is surely something to have a Fathers promise singing in the heart. Many know the inspiration even of a human promise. We need the triumphant faith that says definitely to God, Thou didst promise this, and we wait for its fulfilment. We need patience, too; patience that comes of faith, that God may, so to speak, have time to fulfil His promise. God does not say when He will straighten our path; nor how. He who waits for God is not misspending his time; such tarrying is the truest speed. If we could believe that, how calm, how quiet, how strong, how sublime would be our life!
III. AS A PLAN. We should regard the text as a schemea method, a special way of doing things; I will go before thee. The word before shows the plan; and it also expresses the difficulty on the human side. God does not say, I will go alongside thee; nor, I will go behind thee; but before thee. Sometimes, it may be, so far before, that we cannot see Him. There is sovereignty here; but there is love and tenderness too, as when the mother goes before her child that is just learning to walk. The idea of God going before every man, as if he were the only man in the world, does not dwarf God, but rather exalts Him exceedingly. My Father and your Father, said Christ, my God and your God.
CONCLUSION.Let us beware of regarding the truth of the text as a mere matter of course. There is an essential question of character to be considered: The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord; No good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly.
2. Let us beware of regarding this text as a license for carelessness. The place whereon thou standest is holy ground, is the expression of every man who knows what it is to have God going before him.Joseph Parker, D.D., The City Temple, pp. 412.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(2) Make the crooked places straight.Better, make the dwelling-places smoothi.e., remove all obstacles (comp. 40:4, 42:16).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
2. Gates of brass See preceding verse. The Lord, by his prophet, promises the removal of every barrier. A hundred years later, Herodotus speaks of great Babylon’s gates of brass that were destroyed. This helps to confirm Isaiah’s knowledge of their existence.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Isa 45:2 I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron:
Ver. 2. And make the crooked places even. ] Or, The hilly places level.
I will break in pieces the gates of brass.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
straight = level.
break in pieces = shiver.
gates of brass. Herodotus (i. 180) tells us that the gates leading to the river were of brass.
cut in sunder =. smash.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
go before: Isa 13:4-17
make: Isa 40:4, Isa 42:16, Act 1:15, Luk 3:5
break: Psa 107:16
Reciprocal: 1Sa 10:7 – God 1Ch 14:15 – for God Neh 7:67 – their manservants Job 28:11 – and the thing Isa 14:4 – golden city Isa 43:14 – nobles Isa 45:13 – direct Isa 52:12 – for Jer 51:30 – her bars Jer 51:58 – high gates Dan 5:28 – Thy Mic 2:13 – breaker Nah 2:6 – gates Nah 3:13 – the gates Act 12:10 – which
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Isa 45:2-3. I will go before thee To remove all obstructions, and prepare the way for thee. The divine protection which attended Cyrus, and rendered his expedition against Babylon easy and prosperous, is finely expressed by this highly poetical image of Gods going before him, and making the mountains level. I will break in pieces the gates of brass I will destroy all that oppose thee, and carry thee through the greatest difficulties. Abydenus says that the wall of Babylon had brazen gates. And Herodotus more particularly: In the wall all round, there are a hundred gates all of brass; and so, in like manner, are the sides and the lintels. The gates, likewise, within the city, opening to the river, from the several streets, were of brass; as were those also of the temple of Belus. And I will give thee the treasures of darkness Treasures that have been stored up, and long kept in dark and secret places, as well in Babylon (Jer 50:37; and Jer 51:13) as in other countries which Cyrus conquered, and from which, as Pliny and others relate, he took infinite treasures. Sardes and Babylon, as we learn from Xenophon, when taken by Cyrus, were the wealthiest cities in the world. Crsus, celebrated beyond all the kings of that age for his riches, gave up his treasures to Cyrus, with an exact account, in writing, of the whole, containing the particulars with which each wagon was loaded, when they were carried away: and they were delivered to Cyrus at the palace of Babylon. The gold and silver estimated by weight, according to the account given by Pliny, amount to 126,224,000 pounds sterling. Bishop Lowth. That thou mayest know that I am the God of Israel That I, Jehovah, who have so highly favoured thee, and have mentioned thy name so long beforehand, as the peculiar instrument of my providence, am the true God, and that Israel is my people. If this prophecy was shown to Cyrus, as Josephus says it was, Antiq., lib. 2. cap. 2, (see note on Ezr 1:1,) it is very reasonable to suppose, when he found his own name mentioned in it, and his achievements described so long before, he must thereby be brought to know and acknowledge the God of Israel to be the only living and true God.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
45:2 I will go before thee, and make the {d} crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut asunder the bars of iron:
(d) I will take away all impediments and hindrances.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
God would precede and prepare the way for His conqueror. He would find it relatively easy to overcome his enemies, Lydia and Babylon, and to take even their hidden treasures, those kept in secret vaults. One reason God would do this was so Cyrus would learn that Yahweh, the God of Israel, had blessed him. This is not a promise that Cyrus would become a believer in Yahweh but that he would know that Yahweh was behind what had happened to him (cf. the Pharaoh of the Exodus). On the famous Cyrus Cylinder, Cyrus credited Marduk, a Babylonian idol, for his victories. [Note: See Pritchard, ed., Ancient Near . . ., pp. 315-16.] Yet, in 2Ch 36:23 and Ezr 1:2, he gave Yahweh some credit. Probably Cyrus, being a polytheist, honored many gods-including Yahweh-for his victories.