Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 48:9
For my name’s sake will I defer mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain for thee, that I cut thee not off.
9. The verbs should be rendered in the present tense. That for refrain (found only here) means literally “muzzle:” the object (“my anger”) is to be supplied from the previous clause.
that I cut thee not off ] The idea that Israel is in danger of being cut off is no doubt a surprising one in the mouth of this prophet (Duhm).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
9 11. A nation so sunk in unbelief must have perished, but for Jehovah’s regard for His name. The thought is characteristic of Ezekiel (see esp. ch. 20). The expression “for my name’s sake” ( Isa 48:9) is not found elsewhere in this prophecy; “for my own sake” ( Isa 48:11) occurs in ch. Isa 43:25.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
For my names sake – (See the notes at Isa 43:25; compare Isa 66:5). It is possible that the design of this verse may be, to answer an objection. If the character of the nation is such, it might be said, why should God desire to restore them again to their own land? If their sins have been so great as to make these heavy judgments proper, why not suffer them to remain under the infliction of the deserved judgment? Why should God interpose? why raise up Cyrus? why overthrow Babylon? why conduct them across a pathless wilderness, and provide for them in a sandy desert? To this the answer is, that it was not on their account. It was not because they were deserving of his favor, nor was it primarily and mainly in order that they might be happy. It was on his own account – in order to show his covenant faithfulness; his fidelity to the promises made to their fathers, his mercy, his compassion, his readiness to pardon, and his unchanging love. And this is the reason why he defers his anger, in relation to any of the children of people. His own glory, and not their happiness, is the main object in view. And this is right. The glory, the honor, and the happiness of God, are of more importance than the welfare of any of his creatures; because, first, they are in themselves of more importance, just in proportion as God is more elevated than any of his creatures; and, secondly, the welfare of any or all of his creatures depends on the maintaining of the honor of God, and of his government, and on the manifestation of his perfections to the universe (see the treatise of President Edwards on The end for which God created the world, in Works, vol. iii. New York Ed. 1830).
Will I defer mine anger – That is, I will spare you, and restore you again to your own land (see the note at Isa 48:11).
And for my praise will I refrain for thee – Will I refrain my anger in reference to you as a nation. The word used here ( chatam) denotes properly to muzzle, and is commonly employed with reference to an animal in order to tame or subdue it. Here it means that God would restrain himself; He would not put forth His anger in order to destroy them. Learn hence:
1. That God acts with reference to his own glory, in order to manifest his own perfections, and to secure his praise.
2. That the reason why the wicked are not cut off sooner in their transgressions is, that He may show his forbearance, and secure praise by long-suffering.
3. That the reason why the righteous are kept amidst their frequent failures in duty, their unfaithfulness, and their many imperfections, is, that God may get glory by showing his covenant fidelity.
4. That it is one evidence of piety – and one that is indispensable – that there should be a willingness thai God should secure his own glory in his own way, and that there should be a constant desire that his praise should be promoted, whatever may befall his creatures.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Isa 48:9-11
For My names sake will I defer Mine anger
Gods anger deferred
For My names sake I draw out My wrath.
Jehovah lengthens out His wrath, i.e delays its outbreak, thus shows Himself long-suffering; He checks, restrains, damps it for the good of Israel, that He may not by unchaining His wrath utterly destroy it; and that for the sake of His name, His praise, which demands the carrying out of the plan of salvation, which is the purpose of Israels existence. (F. Delitzch, D. D.)
Mercys master motive
I shall take the text to illustrate–
I. THE CONVERSION OF THE SINNER.
1. In him there is no argument for mercy, no plea for grace.
2. God Himself finds the reason for His mercy. He finds it in Himself. The Lord is a patient God, and determines to make His patience glorious. God also would illustrate His sovereign and abundant mercy towards sinners. God can display His power.
3. But it may be that a soul is saying, Well, I can see that God can thus find a motive for mercy in Himself, when there is none in the sinner, but why is it that the Lord is chastening me as He is? Possibly you are sickly in body, have been brought low in estate, and are grievously depressed in mind. God now, in our text, goes on to explain His dealings with you, that you may not have one hard thought of Him. It is true He has been smiting you, but it has been with a purpose and in measure. I have refined thee, but not with silver. God has not brought upon you the severest troubles.
4. Notice the next thing: the Lord declares that the time of trial is the chosen season for revealing His love to you. I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction. It often happens that the time in which God reveals His choice and manifests His electing love to a soul is when that soul is almost consumed with trouble.
5. But note, before I leave the sinners case, that lest the soul should forget it, the Lord repeats again the point He began with, and unveils the motives of His grace once more. What is the eleventh verse but the echo of the ninth? If a soul should perish while trusting in the blood of Christ, the glory of God would go over to Satan It would be proved that Satan had overcome the truthfulness of God, or the power of God, or the mercy of God.
II. THE RECLAIMING OF THE BACKSLIDER. God was speaking to His own people Israel in these remarkable words. I see more reason for punishing you, for you have made a profession and belied it (Isa 48:1). God having declared the reason of His love to the backslider goes on to tell him, that the present sufferings which he is now enduring as the result of his backslidings should be mitigated. I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have put thee into the fire, but I have not blown the heat to such an extreme degree that thy sin should be melted from thee: that would be a greater heat than any soul could bear. I have refined thee, that was needful, but not as silver; that would have been destructive to thee. Thou sayest, All Thy waves and billows have gone over me. Not so; you know not what all God s waves and billows might be, for there is a depth infinitely lower than any you have ever seen. Then comes His next word: I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction; that is, as if He said, I will renew My election of you. It was never revoked, but now it shall be more manifestly declared. God has looked at you in prosperity and He has seen you treacherously forgetting Him. Now, however, your affairs are at a low ebb and you begin again to pray. Hear this for your comfort–when repentance defiles the face before men it beautifies it before God. (C. H.Spurgeon.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 9. And for my praise – “And for the sake of my praise”] I read ulemaan tehillathi. The word lemaan, though not absolutely necessary here, for it may be understood as supplied from the preceding member, yet seems to have been removed from hence to Isa 48:11; where it is redundant, and where it is not repeated in the Septuagint, Syriac, and a MS. I have therefore omitted it in the latter place, and added it here.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
For my names sake will I defer mine anger: and although thou dost justly deserve my hottest anger and most dreadful judgments, which also, if thou repentest not, I will in due time inflict; yet at present I will spare thee, and deliver thee out of captivity, not for thy sake, be it known to thee, but merely for my own sake, and for the vindication of my name and glory, as it follows, Isa 48:11.
For my praise; that I may be praised and magnified for my power, faithfulness, and goodness, and other perfections. Will I refrain, to wit, mine anger; which is easily understood out of the foregoing clause.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
9. refrainliterally,”muzzle”; His wrath, after the return, was to be restraineda while, and then, because of their sins, let loose again (Ps78:38).
for theethat is, mineanger towards thee.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
For my name’s sake will I defer mine anger,…. From age to age, for those sins which had been committed, and continued in ever since they were a people. The above account of them shows that it was not for any merits of theirs, or any works of righteousness done by them, that he showed favour to them, as afterwards expressed; but for his own name’s sake, and because of his glory; because these people were called by his name, and said to be his people, lest therefore his name should be reproached among the Heathen, or he should suffer any diminution of his glory, therefore he did not at once stir up all his wrath, as their sins deserved, but prolonged it from time to time:
and for my praise will I refrain from thee, that I cut thee not off: that is, refrain mine anger from thee; or “seal” or “stop my nostrils” c, that the smoke of his wrath and anger might not go out from thence to destroy them. The Targum is,
“I will confirm (or establish) thee, that I may not consume thee;”
and this he would do, because of his praise, of the praise of his mercy, grace, and goodness; and that he might have a people to praise him, which he would not, should they be cut off.
c “obstruam sive”. “obturabo nares tibi”, Malvenda, Gataker; so Jarchi.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The people now expiating its offences in exile has been from time immemorial faithless and inclined to apostasy; nevertheless Jehovah will save it, and its salvation is therefore an unmerited work of His compassion. “For my name’s sake I lengthen out my wrath, and for my praise I hold back towards thee, that I may not cut thee off. Behold, I have refined thee, and not in the manner of silver: I have proved thee in the furnace of affliction. For mine own sake, for mine own sake I accomplish it ( for how is it profaned!) , and my glory I give not to another.” The futures in Isa 48:9 affirm what Jehovah continually does. He lengthens out His wrath, i.e., He retards its outbreak, and thus shows Himself long-suffering. He tames or chains it ( , like Arab. chtm , root , compare domare , root Sanscr. dam , possibly also to dam or damp ) for the sake of Israel, that He may not exterminate it utterly by letting it loose, and that for the sake of His name and His praise, which require the carrying out of His plan to salvation, on which the existence of Israel depends. What Israel has hitherto experienced has been a melting, the object of which was not destruction, but testing and refinement. The Beth of is not Beth pretii in the sense of “not to gain silver,” or “not so that I should have gained silver as operae pretium ,” as Umbreit and Ewald maintain (and even Knobel, who explains it however as meaning “in the accompaniment of silver,” though in the same sense). Such a thought would be out of place and purposeless here. Nor is Rosenmller’s explanation admissible, viz., “not with silver, i.e., with that force of fire which is necessary for the smelting out of silver.” This is altogether unsuitable, because the sufferings inflicted upon Israel did resemble the smelting out of the precious metal (see Isa 1:25). The Beth is rather the Beth essentiae, which may be rendered by tanquam , and introduces the accusative predicate in this instance, just as it introduces the nominative predicate in the substantive clause of Job 23:13, and the verbal clause of Psa 39:7. Jehovah melted Israel, but not like silver (not as men melt silver); the meaning of which is, not that He melted it more severely, i.e., even more thoroughly, than silver, as Stier explains it, but, as the thought is positively expressed in Isa 48:10, that the afflictions which fell upon Israel served as a smelting furnace ( kur as in Deu 4:20). It was, however, a smelting of a superior kind, a spiritual refining and testing ( bachar is Aramaic in form, and equivalent to bachan ). The manifestation of wrath, therefore, as these expressions affirm, had a salutary object; and in this very object the intention was involved from the very first, that it should only last for a time. He therefore puts an end to it now for His own sake, i.e., not because He is induced to do so by the merits of Israel, but purely as an act of grace, to satisfy a demand made upon Him by His own holiness, inasmuch as, if it continued any longer, it would encourage the heathen to blaspheme His name, and would make it appear as though He cared nothing for His own honour, which was inseparably bound up with the existence of Israel. The expression here is curt and harsh throughout. In Isa 48:9, and are to be supplied in thought from Isa 48:9; and in the parenthetical exclamation, ( niphal of , as in Eze 22:26), the distant word (my name), also from Isa 48:9. “I will do it” refers to the carrying out of their redemption (cf., Isa 44:23). In Eze 36:19-23 we have, as it were, a commentary upon Isa 48:11.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| Encouragement to God’s People. | B. C. 708. |
9 For my name’s sake will I defer mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain for thee, that I cut thee not off. 10 Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction. 11 For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for how should my name be polluted? and I will not give my glory unto another. 12 Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last. 13 Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together. 14 All ye, assemble yourselves, and hear; which among them hath declared these things? The LORD hath loved him: he will do his pleasure on Babylon, and his arm shall be on the Chaldeans. 15 I, even I, have spoken; yea, I have called him: I have brought him, and he shall make his way prosperous.
The deliverance of God’s people out of their captivity in Babylon was a thing upon many accounts so improbable that there was need of line upon line for the encouragement of the faith and hope of God’s people concerning it. Two things were discouraging to them–their own unworthiness that God should do it for them and the many difficulties in the thing itself; now, in these verses, both these discouragements are removed, for here is,
I. A reason why God would do it for them, though they were unworthy; not for their sake, be it known to them, but for his name’s sake, for his own sake, v. 9-11. 1. It is true they had been very provoking, and God had been justly angry with them. Their captivity was the punishment of their iniquity; and if, when he had them in Babylon, he had left them to pine away and perish there, and made the desolations of their country perpetual, he would only have dealt with them according to their sins, and it was what such a sinful people might expect from an angry God. “But,” says God, “I will defer my anger” (or, rather, stifle and suppress it); “I will make it appear that I am slow to wrath, and will refrain from thee, not pour upon thee what I justly might, that I should cut thee off from being a people.” And why will God thus stay his hand? For my name’s sake; because this people was called by his name, and made profession of his name, and, if they were cut off, the enemies would blaspheme his name. It is for my praise; because it would redound to the honour of his mercy to spare and reprieve them, and, if he continued them to be to him a people, they might be to him for a name and a praise. 1. It is true they were very corrupt and ill-disposed, but God would himself refine them, and make them fit for the mercy he intended for them: “I have refined thee, that thou mightest be made a vessel of honour.” Though he does not find them meet for his favour, he will make them so. And this accounts for his bringing them into the trouble, and continuing them in it so long as he did. It was not to cut them off, but to do them good. It was to refine them, but not as silver, or with silver, not so thoroughly as men refine their silver, which they continue in the furnace till all the dross is separated from it; if God should take that course with them, they would be always in the furnace, for they are all dross, and, as such, might justly be put away (Ps. cxix. 119) as reprobate silver, Jer. vi. 30. He therefore takes them as they are, refined in part only, and not thoroughly. “I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction, that is, I have made thee a choice one by the good which the affliction has done thee, and then designed thee for great things.” Many have been brought home to God as chosen vessels and a good work of grace has been begun in them in the furnace of affliction. Affliction is no bar to God’s choice, but subservient to his purpose. 3. It is true they could not pretend to merit at God’s hand so great a favour as their deliverance out of Babylon, which would put such an honour upon them and bring them so much joy; therefore, says God, For my own sake, even for my own sake, will I do it, v. 11. See how the emphasis is laid upon that; for it is a reason that cannot fail, and therefore the resolution grounded upon it cannot fall to the ground. God will do it, not because he owes them such a favour, but to save the honour of his own name, that that may not be polluted by the insolent triumphs of the heathen, who, in triumphing over Israel, thought they triumphed over the God of Israel and imagined their gods too hard for him. This was plainly the language of Belshazzar’s revels, when he profaned the holy vessels of God’s temple at the same time that he praised his idols (Dan 5:2; Dan 5:4), and of the Babylonians’ demand (Ps. cxxxvii. 3), Sing us one of the songs of Zion. God will therefore deliver his people, because he will not suffer his glory to be thus given to another. Moses pleaded this often with God: Lord, what will the Egyptians say? Note, God is jealous for the honour of his own name, and will not suffer the wrath of man to proceed any further than he will make it turn to his praise. And it is matter of comfort to God’s people that, whatever becomes of them, God will secure his own honour; and, as far as is necessary to that, God will work deliverance for them.
II. Here is a proof that God could do it for them, though they were unable to help themselves and the thing seemed altogether impracticable. Let Jacob and Israel hearken to this, and believe it, and take the comfort of it. They are God’s called, called according to his purpose, called by him out of Egypt (Hos. xi. 1) and now out of Babylon, a people whom with a distinguishing favour he calls by name, and to whom he calls. They are his called, for they are called to him, called by his name, and called his; and therefore he will look after them, and they may be assured that, as he will deliver them for his own sake, so he will deliver them by his own strength. They need not fear them, for, 1. He is God alone, and the eternal God (v. 12): “I am he who can do what I will and will do what is best, he whom none can compare with, much less contend with. I am the first; I also am the last.” Who can be too quick for him that is the first, or anticipate him? Who can be too hard for him that is the last, and will keep the field against all opposers, and will reign till they are all made his footstool? What room then is left to doubt of their deliverance when he undertakes it whose designs cannot but be well laid, for he is the first, and well executed, for he is the last. As for this God, his work is perfect. 2. He is the God that made the world, and he that did that can do any thing, v. 13. Look we down? We see the earth firm under us, and feel it so; it was his hand that laid the foundation of it. Look we up? We see the heavens spread out as a canopy over our heads, and it was his hand that spread them, that spanned them, that stretched them out, and did it by an exact measure, as the workman sometimes metes out his work by spans. This intimates that God has a vast reach and can compass designs of the greatest extent. If the palm of his right hand (so the margin reads it) has gone so far as to stretch out the heavens, what will he do with his outstretched arm? Yet this is not all: he has not only made the heavens and the earth, and therefore he in whom our hope and help is omnipotent (Ps. cxxiv. 8), but he has the command of all the hosts of both; when he calls them into his service, to go on his errands, they stand up together, they come at the call, they answer to their names: “Here we are; what wilt thou have us to do?” They stand up, not only in reverence to their Creator, but in a readiness to execute his orders: They stand up together, unanimously concurring, and helping one another in the service of their Maker. If God therefore will deliver his people, he cannot be at a loss for instruments to be employed in effecting their deliverance. 3. He has already foretold it, and, having infinite knowledge, so that he foresaw it, no doubt he has almighty power to effect it: “All you of the house of Jacob, assemble yourselves, and hear this for your comfort, Which among them, among the gods of the heathen, or their wise men, has declared these things, or could declare them?” v. 14. They had no foresight of them at all, but those who consulted them were very confident that Babylon should be a lady for ever and Israel perpetual slave; and their oracles did not give them the least hint to the contrary, to undeceive them; whereas God by his prophets had given notice to the Jews, long before, of their captivity and the destruction of Jerusalem, as he had now likewise given them notice of their release (v. 15): I, even I, have spoken; and he would not have spoken it if he could not have made it good: none could out-see him, and therefore we may be sure that none could outdo him. 4. The person is pitched upon who is to be employed in this service, and the measures are concerted in the divine counsels, which are unalterable. Cyrus is the man who must do it; and it tends much to strengthen our assurance that a thing shall be done when we are particularly informed how and by whom. It is not left at uncertainty who shall do it, but the matter is fixed. (1.) It is one whom God is well pleased in, upon this account, because he is designed for this service: The Lord has loved him (v. 14); he has done him this favour, this honour, to make him an instrument in the redemption of his people and therein a type of the great Redeemer, God’s beloved Son, in whom he was well pleased. Those God does a great kindness to, and has a great kindness for, whom he makes serviceable to his church. (2.) It is one to whom God will give authority and commission: I have called him, have given him a sufficient warrant, and therefore will bear him out. (3.) It is one whom God will by a series of providences lead to this service: “I have brought him from a far country, brought him to engage against Babylon, brought him step by step, quite beyond his own intentions.” Whom God calls he will bring, will cause them to come (so the word is), to come at the call. (4.) It is one whom God will own and give success to. Cyrus will do God’s pleasure on Babylon, that which it is his pleasure should be done and which he will be pleased with the doing of, though Cyrus has ends of his own to serve and has no regard either to the will of God or to his favour in the doing of it. His arm (Cyrus’s army, and in it God’s arm) shall come, and be upon the Chaldeans, to bring them down (v. 14); for, if God call him and bring him, he will certainly make his way prosperous, v. 15. Then we may hope to prosper in our way when we follow a divine call and guidance.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Vs. 9-11: FOR HIS OWN NAME’S SAKE
1. For His own name’s sake, and ultimate praise, God has, temporarily, suspended (literally, “muzzled”) His judgment of this people – lest they be cut off, (vs. 9; comp. 2Pe 3:15).
a. They certainly deserved destruction!
b. But, if He cut them off, the worshippers of idols would declare that Judah’s God was not able to save her.
c. The grace and mercy that He shows toward His erring people will ultimately redound to the glory and praise of His name.
2. God has attempted to refine His people, but they are more like dross than sterling, because they have rebelled against His discipline and refused to repent (vs. 10; Isa 1:25; Isa 42:25; Eze 22:18-22; comp. Deu 4:20; Jer 11:3-4).
a. He has proved (or tested) them in the furnace of affliction, (Psa 66:10).
b. And God’s “proving” is always to the end that He may APPROVE (vs. 10b; Zec 1:17; Zec 2:12; Zec 13:9; Mal 3:3; 1Pe 1:6-7).
3. Lest His own name (or glory) should be shamefully polluted, God will not utterly abandon His people, (vs. 11).
a. Should He destroy them, their enemies would attribute the defeat of Judah to the supremacy of their lifeless idols!
b. But God will not give His glory to another, (Eph 1:4; Eph 1:6; Eph 1:12) -nor praise for His work to grave images!
c. He is doing exactly what He declared, from ancient times, that He would do.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
9. For my name’s sake. After having reproached the people with that malice which was natural to their fathers from the beginning, and which had passed down to children and grandchildren, he now reminds them that it is owing to his mercy that they survive, but that otherwise they would have deserved a thousand times to perish. This warning served two purposes; first, believers needed to be supported, that during their captivity they might not lose courage; and secondly, when they had received permission to return, it was not of less importance that they should be humbled, that they might acknowledge that they were indebted for their deliverance to nothing else than God’s undeserved goodness.
So as not to cut thee off. Hence we see that the object of the preceding remonstrance was, that the people might know that it is not owing to their merit that the Lord stretches out his hand to bring them out of the grave of Babylon; for they deserved to be utterly ruined. Consequently, that the Lord now spares us also, that he mitigates or remits punishment, and, in a word, that he pays any attention to us, all this is entirely the result of his grace; so that we ought not to ascribe it to any merits or satisfactions of men. And thus, as we have formerly explained at other passages, the distinction made by the Sophists falls to the ground, as to the remission of punishment which they refuse to admit to be undeserved, because satisfaction is made to the justice of God. But here Isaiah declares that remission is made by free grace “for God’s name’s sake;” for he speaks of punishment which he might justly have inflicted on the Jews. He had the justest cause for destroying this nation, if he had not determined to defend his glory
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
THE GOVERNING PRINCIPLE OF GODS PROVIDENCE
Isa. 48:9. For My names sake, &c.
It is possible that the design of this verse may be to answer an objection. If the character of the nation is such, it might be said, why should God desire to restore them again to their own land? To this the answer is, it was not on their accountnot because they were deserving of His favour, nor was it primarily and mainly in order that they might be happy. It was on His own accountin order to show His covenant faithfulness, His mercy, &c. And this is the reason why He defers His anger in relation to any of the children of men. His own glory, and not their happiness, is the main object in view. And this is right. The glory, the honour, and the happiness of God, are of more importance than the welfare of any of His creatures.
1. God acts with reference to His own glory, in order to manifest His own perfections, and to secure His praise.
2. The reason why the wicked are not cut off sooner in their transgressions is, that He may show His forbearance, and secure praise by long-suffering.
3. The reason why the righteous are kept amidst their frequent failures in duty, their unfaithfulness, and their many imperfections, is that God may get glory by showing His covenant fidelity.
4. It is one evidence of piety, and one that is indispensable, that there should be a willingness that God should secure His own glory in His own way, and that there should be a constant desire that His praise should be promoted, whatever may befall His creatures.A. Barnes, D.D.: Commentary on Isaiah, in loco.
MERCYS MASTER MOTIVE
Isa. 48:9-11. For My names sake will I defer Mine anger, &c.
The people of Israel, in all their generations, were full of evil. The Lord falls back upon Himself, and within Himself finds a reason for His grace. For my names sake, &c. Finding a motive in His own glory which was bound up in the existence of Israel, and would have been compromised by their destruction, He turned unto them in love and kindness; Cyrus wrote the decree of emancipation, the Israelites came back to the land, and once again they sat every man under his own vine and fig-tree, and ate the good of the land. So far we give the historical meaning of the passage. We shall now use the text as an illustration of Divine love in other cases, for from one deed of grace we may learn all. As God dealt with His people Israel after the flesh, in the same manner He dealeth with His people Israel after the spirit; and His mercies towards His saints are to be seen as in a mirror in His wondrous loving-kindness towards the seed of Abraham. I shall take the text to illustrate
I. THE CONVERSION OF THE SINNER.
1. God finds him so utterly ruined and depraved, that in him there is no argument for mercy, no plea for grace. You have been obstinate in sin; impudent in your dealing with God; your brow has been brass. You have behaved very treacherously towards God. You have broken your vows of repentance, &c.
2. God Himself finds the reason for His mercy. Here is the drift of the thoughtthe Lord is a patient God, and determines to make His patience glorious. God also would illustrate in the salvation of a sinner, not only His patience, but His sovereign and abundant mercy towards sinners. God can, by saving such a one as thou art, not only glorify His patience and grace, but display His power. It is evident that it is not an easy task to conquer thee. But now, it may be that a soul here present is saying, Well, I can see that God can thus find a motive for mercy in Himself, when there is none in the sinner, but why is it that the Lord is chastening me as He is? Possibly you are sick in body, have been brought low in estate, and are grievously depressed in mind. God now, in our text, goes on to explain
3. His dealings with you, that you may not have one hard thought of Him. It is true He has been smiting you, but it has been with a purpose and in measure. I have refined thee, but not with silver. You have been put into the furnace of affliction, but notnote the but,but not with silver. Now, when silver is refined it requires the most vehement heat of all metals. God has not brought upon you the severest troubles. You have been chastised, but not as you might have been, nor as you deserved to have been.
4. The Lord declares that the time of trial is the chosen season for revealing His love to you: I have chosen thee, &c. God seeth the things that thall be as though they were; everything is now with Him.
5. Lest the soul should forget it, the Lord repeats again the point He began with, and unveils the motives of His grace once more. What is the 11th verse but the echo of the 9th? God cannot save you, sinner, for your own sake; you are not worth the saving. Yet the Lord declares that He will refrain from wrath. He will have mercy upon you, O broken heart, for His own sake. Plead the merits of Christ, &c. If you will go to Him in Christ Jesus, though you be all but damned already, and feel that your death-warrant is signed; He will not, He cannot, reject you. Throw yourself at the cross-foot, and say, Lord, I believe, help Thou mine unbelief; and God will never tarnish His name by thy destruction. And then He adds, And I will not give my glory unto another. But if a soul should perish while trusting in the blood of Christ, the glory of God would go over to Satan.
II. THE RECLAIMING OF THE BACKSLIDER.
1. Backsliding professor, your case is more evidently meant in the text even than that of the sinner, for God was speaking to His own people Israel in these remarkable words. Now your crime, if anything, is a more censurable one than that of the sinner. I can see no more reason why God should have mercy upon you than upon the ungodly; indeed, I see more reason for punishing you, for you have made a profession and belied it. How great your guilt! You see there is no reason for Gods grace that can be found in your person or in your character, but it is found in the divine heart.
2. Observe, that God, having thus declared the reason of His love to the backslider, goes on to tell him that the present sufferings, which he is now enduring as the result of his backslidings, should be mitigated. I have refined thee, but not with silver, &c.
3. Then comes His next word: I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction. Though you are not open backsliders, perhaps you may be worse than those who are.
CONCLUSION.Let us go one and all, whether we be unsaved sinners or backsliders, or may suspect ourselves to be either the one or the otherlet us go to the dear fountain of His blood, whose open veins are the gates of healing to us; and together let us rejoice that He for His mercys sake can save us, and magnify Himself by the deed of mercy.C. H. Spurgeon: Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, No. 1041.
THE FURNACE OF AFFLICTION
Isa. 48:10. I have chosen thee, &c.
No one can read the history of Gods ancient people without perceiving the wonderful compassion of God. Their numerous transgressions frequently call for the exercise of His justice; but He spared them in mercy. Sometimes He exercised them with heavy trials, placing them in the furnace of affliction; and it appears from the context that a consignment to such an ordeal has been salutary in its influence. A furnace is a fireplace or crucible for melting and refining gold or other metals (Pro. 17:3; Pro. 27:21). Sometimes it is the emblem of cruel bondage (Deu. 4:20; Jer. 9:4). Also of judgments and severe and grievous afflictions, by which God punishes the rebellious (Eze. 22:18-20). By the furnace of affliction He also tries and proves His people, as in the text.
I. This furnace is afflictive. It is composed of numerous severe trials.
1. The scantiness of temporal things.
2. Bodily afflictions.
3. Bereavements.
4. Domestic trials of various kinds from ungodly relativesrefractory and disobedient children, &c. &c. Thousands of Gods people have been in this furnace. Even Jesus was a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.
II. This furnace is divinely appointed. Afflictions are not the result of chance (Job. 5:6); not to be traced to mere natural causes; not the works of our enemies merely. They imply the moral government of God, and the wise and gracious arrangement of His providence. Every event is either His appointment, or has His all-wise permission (see Isa. 45:7; Job. 2:10; Job. 34:29). Such views of the subject have reconciled and supported the minds of the godly under their various afflictions (Job. 23:14; Psa. 31:15; Lam. 3:27). What a blessing that all is arranged by infinite wisdom and love! (H. E. I. 143, 179188, 3675, 3676).
III. For Gods people this furnace is not vindictive, but gracious. Divine chastisement may be a kind of punishment for sin committed. It frequently supposes some fault, which it is intended to correct. But sometimes men are persecuted for righteousness sake (Mat. 5:10). God will suffer affliction to befall us when we are cold and indifferent in His cause. But such punishment is not like that inflicted on the wicked. Punishment may be vindictive or corrective. The one is in wrath, the other in love; the one is for the good of society, the other for the good of the individual, to recover from the evil which affliction is intended to correct. God may be angry with His child, and not hate him. He may chastise him with His rod, yet love him with His whole heart (Heb. 12:5-11; H. E. I. 5674, 116, 189196).
IV. This furnace is proportionate. That is, God will regulate its heat according to the circumstances of His people who may be placed there (Mal. 3:3; 1Co. 10:13; Isa. 43:2; Zec. 3:9; Heb. 4:15; H.E. I. 198, 3677). The paternal relation He bears to His people will not permit Him to deal with them after the manner of the fathers of our flesh. There can be no caprice, no unwise or intemperate anger in Him; He treats them tenderly (Psa. 103:8-9; Psa. 103:13-14). Compassion is mixed with the severest dispensations, and a wise distinction made between the different members of His family.
V. The tendency of this furnace is beneficial. I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction. A more proper translation would have been, I have tried thee, &c. [Delitsch: I have proved thee]. By affliction of various kinds I have proved thy faith, hope, patience, and love (H. E. I. 7584). Observe, God has nevertheless chosen some in the furnace of affliction. He has met them there, and by His Spirit has subdued them, and brought them to repentance, faith, and consecration to Himself. The furnace of affliction has been instrumental in their conversion. The design of a position in this furnace is to purify the Christian from sin, to wean from the world, &c. The believer emanates from this furnace improved, refined (Jas. 1:2-3; 1Pe. 1:6-7, &c.; H. E. I. 8590, 204212, 36963702). Afflictions exercise the graces of the Christian (Rom. 5:3-5). They preserve from sin. They assimilate the soul to Christ, who was a man of sorrows. They show the frailty of human life, and the vanity of the world. They teach sympathy with others (H. E. I. 135, 136). They make very humble, and break the haughty mind, and bring down the lofty thought (Isa. 38:15). They induce a spirit of prayer (Psa. 77:2, &c.) In short, God, by placing His people in the furnace of affliction, is educating them for heaven (H. E. I. 112115, 215).
APPLICATION.
1. Let the sublime design of this furnace induce patience and submission.
2. Remember the time of trial is but short. Called the day of adversitythe hour of afflictionbut for a moment (H. E. I. 217, 218, 3705, 3706).Helps for the Pulpit, 1st series, pp. 175178.
Affliction as a furnace [1477]
[1477] See also outline: The Fiery Ordeal of the Church, vol. i. p. 347.
1. A furnace is prepared for gold (Pro. 17:3). So afflictions are appointed for the saints, who are compared to gold.
2. A furnace refines gold, and makes it much purer than before; so afflictions refine and make more holy (Job. 23:10).
3. A furnace is made sometimes very hot, according to the kind and condition of the metal; so are afflictions, sometimes, very grievous, heavy, and trying, as the case requires. [1480]
[1480] It requires an excessive heat to purify silver, and to consume all its dross. Were God to keep His people in the furnace till all their dross, sin, and corruption were removed they would be utterly consumed. His chastisements are, therefore, not fierce, but gradual; in mercy, and not in rigid justice.Dr. Gill.
4. A furnace melts the gold, and makes it soft before it is refined; so afflictions those whom they are meant to purify.
5. A furnace will destroy tin, lead, &c., and also the drossy part of gold; so afflictions burn up the loose and hypocritical, and purge from His people all their corruptions.
6. The metal, when it comes forth from the furnace, is more prepared for its proper use; so are the people of God when they come forth from affliction. Therefore, let us be cheerful and hopeful while we are in the furnace.B. Keach.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
b. PERSPECTIVE
TEXT: Isa. 48:9-16
9
For my names sake will I defer mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain for thee, that I cut thee not off.
10
Behold, I have refined thee, but not as silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.
11
For mine own sake, for mine own sake, will I do it; for how should my name be profaned? and my glory will I not give to another.
12
Hearken unto me, O Jacob, and Israel my called: I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.
13
Yea, my hand hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spread out the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together.
14
Assemble yourselves, all ye, and hear; who among them hath declared these things? He whom Jehovah loveth shall perform his pleasure on Babylon, and his arm shall be on the Chaldeans.
15
I, even I, have spoken; yea, I have called him; I have brought him, and he shall make his way prosperous.
16
Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; from the beginning I have not spoken in secret; from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord Jehovah hath sent me, and his Spirit.
QUERIES
a.
Why would God stop His anger for His own sake?
b.
Does God love Cyrus (the one who shall perform Gods pleasure on Babylon)?
c.
Who is the me whom the Lord Jehovah has sent? (Isa. 48:16)
PARAPHRASE
In order that the faithfulness and mercifulness of My nature may be manifested and praised I am putting a muzzle on My anger and I will not utterly destroy you, Judah. I have put you to the test in the furnace of affliction, like silver is refined, but I have found no silver in you. Therefore, I want you to know that what I am going to do in redeeming you, this new thing I am predicting, is not because you deserve it but because I do not intend for My name to be dishonored. The inviolability of My name is of supreme importance to all men lest they think My absolute sovereignty and glory can belong to another. Listen to Me My chosen people, Israel. I am the Absolute God; I am the only God there isfirst, last, and always. I created the earth and the heavens; they are at My command and when I command, they obey! Get yourselves together, Israel, and decide this; which of the heathen gods has predicted or is able to command the future like I am commanding Cyrus now before he is even born!? Jehovah has chosen Cyrus as the object of His pleasure to execute Jehovahs will upon Babylon; yes, it shall be the arm of Cyrus descending upon the Chaldeans on My behalf. I, the Absolute Sovereign of all creation, have spoken; I have determined that it shall be Cyrus; I will support him in My work, and nothing shall keep him from doing My purpose. Draw near to Me and pay close attention to what I am telling you: From the time I began speaking to man My will has always been clearly made known and not secret like the heathen oracles; My sovereign will has been present in everything that has happened to you and it will continue to be present in what is going to happen through Cyruseven to the coming of the new things of the messianic age. Now, I the Suffering Servant, tell you, Israel, the Lord Jehovah sends Me along with His Holy Spirit.
COMMENTS
Isa. 48:9-11 JEHOVAHS GOODNESS: What Jehovah is doing with Judah (Israel), He is doing because of His goodness not theirs. To keep His own absolute goodness and faithfulness and mercifulness inviolate He will act to redeem them from captivity. That which motivates Jehovah is His own graciousnessJudah does not merit redemption. The Hebrew word ekhetam is translated refrain but literally means muzzle; it is the same Hebrew word used in Deu. 25:4 concerning the muzzling of an ox when treading out the grain. Jehovah decides by His own sovereign grace to muzzle Himself and not utterly destroy His covenant people. The Lord chose His people in the furnace of affliction. Israel was in the Egyptian furnace when first chosen. Then the Lord submitted them to a refining process through the wilderness, the period of the judges, the period of the monarchy and the divided kingdoms, to see if there was any silver in them. He found none! As good as some of the faithful (like Isaiah, Hezekiah, and some others) remnant may have been, put to the refinement of Jehovah none deserved the approbation, silver. Jeremiah was instructed to find one righteous man in Jerusalem, if he could (Jer. 5:1 f). If God refined your community in His crucible today He would not find one righteous man who deserved redemptionno man (except the Man, Very Man, Jesus Christ) deserves redemption. All have sinned and come short of the demand of God. But the Good News is that Jesus Christ did come in the flesh, earned absolute righteousness in the flesh, died as the substitute-sinner for all mankind and arose from the dead victorious over that penalty and offers the grace of God to every man conditioned upon that mans faith and covenant relationship. The whole point of this passage is that the inviolability of the name of Jehovah is absolutely necessary to the redemption of Judah because there is no other basis upon which Judah may be redeemed! If Jehovahs absolute goodness and mercifulness and faithfulness cannot be trusted, then all is lost! If Jehovah cannot and does not keep His word He is no better than the impotent gods of the heathen. The redemption of man rests not in the failing, falling inconsistencies of humanness, but in the never failing consistency and absolute changelessness of God and His Son, Jesus Christ. If Jehovahs name can be profaned and His glory given to any other then there is no Absolute Being and man must have an Absolute Being. If this be the case, the focus of all prophecy and preaching should be the character of God and His Son. The Good News is Who God Is and what He has donenot who man is and what he must do! The Gospel is preaching the person of Christ, not a religious system. Of course, the good news also reveals how man may enter into a covenant with that Person. It is by obedient faith, but not of meritorious works lest any man should boast.
Isa. 48:12-16 JEHOVAHS GREATNESS: This chapter is a summation of the section discussing the Power of the Lords Servant (ch. 4448). The power of Jehovah is going to be demonstrated through His servant Cyrus (and ultimately through His Servant the Messiah) in order that His name may be vindicated as Absolute Sovereign. This is necessary that once and for all men may realize there are no other gods. Man must trust his eternal life to Jehovah and His sovereign plans and servants. Jehovah is Creator. He made the earth and heavens. Even inanimate creation is His servant. There is nothing made that is uselessJehovah created everything and made it to be His servant and do His bidding. All of creation stands at attention to serve His purpose (cf. Psa. 119:90-91; 1Co. 3:21-23; Heb. 1:7; Heb. 1:14, etc.).
So all Israel (Judah) is commanded to assemble itself and hear the sovereign challenge of Jehovah about His servants work. Which of the heathen gods or false prophets has ever told Israel all that Jehovah is now telling her about His redemptive plan, the use of Cyrus, and the coming of the Messiah-Servant? None! They do not because they cannot! They are not gods but pieces of wood and stone. He whom Jehovah loveth is undoubtedly referring (in context) to Cyrus. Of course, Jehovah loves Cyrus, but not in the same way He loves a believer simply because Cyrus (being an unbeliever) will not allow God to love him in a covenant relationship. The word love (Heb. aehevo from ahav) here probably means simply that Jehovah has chosen Cyrus to be the object of His care and providence to serve Him in conquering Babylon and freeing the Jewish exiles. At one time Nebuchadnezzar was chosen to be the recipient of the special favor of Jehovah (cf. Jer. 27:5 f); at another time Alexander the Great was given dominion (Dan. 7:6 f). The emphasis here is not on Cyrus but on the sovereignty of Jehovah. Jehovah has spoken! Jehovah has called Cyrus! Jehovah will bring (sustain) Cyrus and Jehovah shall make Cyrus prosper in what Jehovah wants, but Cyrus will not prosper when Jehovah does not want him to prosper!
The intent of it all is that Judah might see things from Jehovahs perspective! This is the whole point of revelation; man must see (or understand) what is from the perspective of Who Made What Is! Man must see that all of creation stands at attention and serves the eternal purpose of God which is the redemption of creation. The coming captivity of Judah, the coming conquest of Babylon by a Persian emperor yet unborn (Cyrus), the far distant coming of a Messiah-Servantall must be seen by man, not through human perspective (carnal, limited, temporal), but through divine perspective which is eternal, righteous, true, pure and glorious. God calls Judah, Come near unto me, and pay close attention to what I am about to say. However much of His will God has deemed necessary for man to know and obey at any time, God has not been secretive about it. It was never Gods business to keep His will as secret as He possibly could. He has always desired to reveal as much of His will as He possibly could. The only hindrance to revelation has been mans spiritual rebellion. Gods revelation of Himself in Jesus Christ is hindered by mans unwillingness to want that revelation. We would know His will more fully if we were more willing to do His will (Joh. 7:17; Joh. 13:17). God spoke plainly and openly through His messengers from the very beginning. Often times He spoke more plainly than the people wanted Him to speak (cf. Isa. 30:9-11; Amo. 9:10-15; Mic. 2:6-11, etc.). Jehovahs presence was apparent in every prophecy made by any prophet of His. Now it should be apparent to Judah that Jehovahs presence and will is being expressed in the prophecy concerning Cyrus.
The last half of Isa. 48:16 presents a problem for commentators. Keil and Delitzsch say the me who is sent by the Lord Jehovah is the One unequalled servant of Jehovah (the Messiah); Edward J. Young calls Him the Servant par excellence (the Messiah); Leupold believes the me is the prophet Isaiah. Of course, it is unusual to have such a sudden transition from the speaking of Jehovah directly to the speaking of the Messiah. But it is not altogether unparalleled. Certainly Isa. 61:1 f are the words of the Messiah. It appears that Isaiah ch. 49 is also a dissertation by the Messiah Himself. Keil and Delitzsch cite Zec. 4:9 as another example of such transition. It would appear that the context supports the messianic view. Jehovah has been emphasizing the new thing He is going to do as a consequence of Cyrus return of the exiles. That new thing can only be the messianic age. It is therefore altogether appropriate that the Unequaled Servant speak here of His commission or sending. In this text is emphasized also the unique companionship of the Spirit the Messiah will have in His mission (cf. Isa. 42:1 f; Isa. 61:1 f). The Suffering Servant (Messiah) did not come alone. The Holy Spirit was with Him; in fact, He was the Holy Spirit in the flesh (cf. Joh. 14:15-17). From this point on (and of chapter 48) more and more emphasis is put on the program of the coming unequalled Servant. The work of Cyrus and the restoration of Israel to Palestine was simply a preparatory step for His coming. There is going to have to be centuries of repentance and sanctification in a remnant of Israel in preparation for His coming. Cyrus and the restoration was just the beginning of it all. From Isa. 48:16 a to 16b the reader has been transported over a span of more than 600 years. But such telescoping of history is not unusual in the writings of the prophets (see Shortened Perspective, in Minor Prophets, by Butler, pub. College Press, pg. 32; comments on Joe. 2:27-28, pg. 184188).
Jehovah wants Israel to see her destiny from His perspective, not from the limited human perspective. Jehovah knows everything from beginning to end. He created everything. He is absolute Sovereign. When He says His people will be taken captive, released by a pagan emperor (yet unborn), and that His Servant will come to bring them everlasting victory and peace, Israel should see His day (cf. Joh. 8:56-59; Joh. 12:41; 1Pe. 1:10-12) by faith.
QUIZ
1.
What was the basis upon which Jehovah acted to redeem Judah?
2.
Why must Jehovah do things for the sake of His name?
3.
Why emphasize here that Jehovah is Creator?
4.
What hinders man from knowing Gods revelation of Himself?
5.
Why should man need to see everything from the perspective of divine revelation?
6.
Why the transition from Jehovahs speaking to the Servants speaking in Isa. 48:16?
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(9) For my names sake . . .The thought is two-fold, in answer to the implied question why Jehovah had not punished so guilty a people: (1) after the manner of men, that had He destroyed His chosen people, the nations of the world would have thought Him changeable and capricious; (2) taking name as the symbol of character, that He might assert His own everlasting righteousness and love, as willing to save rather than destroy.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
9-11. But if so perverse, why desire to restore them to Jerusalem and Judah? The answer is, For my name’s sake. I forbear with all the world: I forbear with the Jews especially, that in them, whom I have chosen morally to train the world, my name my honour, compassion, method of severe and kindly discipline may be shown to all. They are my people, the medium I have appointed through which the Redeemer and his salvation are to come to the whole world. Israel is of no account in himself. Silver is silver, though mixed with dross, which is easily purified by fire. But Israel, having more dross in his nature, I purify in the fiery furnace of affliction. The figure is taken from the ancient refiners, who subjected bullion more or less encumbered with dross to heats of varied degrees in the furnace. ( Grotius.) The subjection of Israel to the fiercer heats was the more perfectly to purify them, for He cannot tolerate the slightest impurity in his own. He compounds not with an infinitesimal degree thereof. He is no compromiser.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Isa 48:9-10. For my name’s sake. For my name’s sake will I moderate my anger, and for my praise I will refrain towards thee, &c. Isa 48:10. Behold, &c. I have proved, or had pity on thee in the furnace of affliction. Silver is of the most difficult refinement, and requires a hotter and clearer fire than gold and other metals. The meaning therefore of the phrase, I have refined thee, but not with silver, is, that though God had punished his people in the Babylonish captivity, he had not done so with the utmost severity: In the midst of judgment he had remembered mercy.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Reader! as in the former paragraph I called upon you to mark the graciousness of God’s expostulation with his people; so here I pray you to observe, how the whole of sovereign grace and love is by the Lord himself traced up to its source: Never, never forget that it is for Jehovah’s glorious name’s sake, that the whole creation-work and redemption-work, hath been, and is, and will be accomplished, even to all eternity. The song of heaven sets this forth most fully: and the experience of the redeemed on earth is made to correspond as fully to the same. If God pardons sin, receives the sinner, and passeth by their iniquities, the reason is assigned: Be it known to you, O house of Israel, that I do this not for your sakes, but for my great name’s sake. Rev 4:9-11 ; Eze 36:21-22 . If the reader would see two remarkable instances wherein the servants of the Lord availed themselves of this distinguishing character of Jehovah, to plead for pardon and forgiveness, and prevailed, I would refer him to Exo 32:9-14 , and Jos 6:6-9 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Isa 48:9 For my name’s sake will I defer mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain for thee, that I cut thee not off.
Ver. 9. For my name’s sake will I defer mine anger.] Heb., Prolong it. Here he setteth forth the cause of his patience toward so perverse a people, viz., the sole respect to his own glory, whereof he is so tender, and so loath to be a loser in. Propter me faciam.
And for my praise.
That I cut thee not off.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
My name’s. See note on Psa 20:1.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Isa 48:9-11
Isa 48:9-11
“For my name’s sake will I defer mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain for thee, that I cut thee not off. Behold, I have refined thee, but not as silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction. For mine own sake, for mine own sake, will I do it; for how should my name be profaned? and my glory will I not give to another.”
Right here is God’s answer as to “Why?” he had refrained from destroying a reprobate and sinful nation who fully deserved such a destruction, no less than it had been deserved by Sodom and Gomorrah. Dummelow pointed out that God’s refinement of Israel was unlike the refinement of silver, that is, the removal of all the dross, “would have meant the destruction of Israel.” There is no question whatever as to whether or not Israel deserved total destruction, because their wickedness even exceeded that of Sodom and Gomorrah, as Ezekiel reported in Ezekiel 16. Why, then did God not do it? The abbreviated answer is that to have done so would have endangered, or perhaps destroyed, God’s plan of human redemption. God had promised that through the patriarchs Messiah would be born, through whom all the families of the earth were to be blessed; very well, the destruction of Israel would have checkmated the achievement of the birth of Messiah through the posterity of Abraham, or at least rendered it impossible to be proved or documented. Therefore, “for the sake of God’s promises,” he was stuck with Israel until the Eternal purpose had been realized.
Note the question here, “How should my name be profaned?” the argument here is exactly the same as that of Moses is Num 14:13 ff, to the effect that if God should execute upon Israel the destruction they deserved, the pagans would declare that it was because God was unable to save them from destruction; and the pagans would have heralded Israel’s destruction as a victory of their idols over Jehovah! Moses’ argument prevailed with God at that time; and this passage shows that the argument was still valid in the times of Isaiah. Lowth gave the meaning of Isa 48:11 thus: “God would not destroy Israel, that he may not be blasphemed.”
Isa 48:9-11 JEHOVAHS GOODNESS: What Jehovah is doing with Judah (Israel), He is doing because of His goodness not theirs. To keep His own absolute goodness and faithfulness and mercifulness inviolate He will act to redeem them from captivity. That which motivates Jehovah is His own graciousness-Judah does not merit redemption. The Hebrew word ekhetam is translated refrain but literally means muzzle; it is the same Hebrew word used in Deu 25:4 concerning the muzzling of an ox when treading out the grain. Jehovah decides by His own sovereign grace to muzzle Himself and not utterly destroy His covenant people. The Lord chose His people in the furnace of affliction. Israel was in the Egyptian furnace when first chosen. Then the Lord submitted them to a refining process through the wilderness, the period of the judges, the period of the monarchy and the divided kingdoms, to see if there was any silver in them. He found none! As good as some of the faithful (like Isaiah, Hezekiah, and some others) remnant may have been, put to the refinement of Jehovah none deserved the approbation, silver. Jeremiah was instructed to find one righteous man in Jerusalem, if he could (Jer 5:1 f). If God refined your community in His crucible today He would not find one righteous man who deserved redemption-no man (except the Man, Very Man, Jesus Christ) deserves redemption. All have sinned and come short of the demand of God. But the Good News is that Jesus Christ did come in the flesh, earned absolute righteousness in the flesh, died as the substitute-sinner for all mankind and arose from the dead victorious over that penalty and offers the grace of God to every man conditioned upon that mans faith and covenant relationship. The whole point of this passage is that the inviolability of the name of Jehovah is absolutely necessary to the redemption of Judah because there is no other basis upon which Judah may be redeemed! If Jehovahs absolute goodness and mercifulness and faithfulness cannot be trusted, then all is lost! If Jehovah cannot and does not keep His word He is no better than the impotent gods of the heathen. The redemption of man rests not in the failing, falling inconsistencies of humanness, but in the never failing consistency and absolute changelessness of God and His Son, Jesus Christ. If Jehovahs name can be profaned and His glory given to any other then there is no Absolute Being and man must have an Absolute Being. If this be the case, the focus of all prophecy and preaching should be the character of God and His Son. The Good News is Who God Is and what He has done-not who man is and what he must do! The Gospel is preaching the person of Christ, not a religious system. Of course, the good news also reveals how man may enter into a covenant with that Person. It is by obedient faith, but not of meritorious works lest any man should boast.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
my name’s: Isa 48:11, Isa 37:35, Isa 43:25, Jos 7:9, 1Sa 12:22, Psa 25:11, Psa 79:9, Psa 106:8, Psa 143:11, Jer 14:7, Eze 20:9, Eze 20:14, Eze 20:22, Eze 20:44, Dan 9:17-19
defer: Neh 9:30, Neh 9:31, Psa 78:38, Psa 103:8-10, Pro 19:11
Reciprocal: Deu 9:28 – Because 2Ki 19:34 – for mine 1Ch 17:21 – make thee Isa 48:19 – his name Eze 36:21 – General Hos 11:9 – not execute
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Isa 48:9-11. For my names sake will I defer mine anger Although thou dost justly deserve my hottest anger and most dreadful judgments, which also, if thou repentest not, I will in due time inflict, yet at present I will spare thee, and deliver thee out of captivity, not for thy sake, but merely for my own sake, and for the vindication of my name, that I may be praised for my power, faithfulness, and goodness. Behold, I have refined thee Although I will not cut thee off, yet I will put thee into the furnace, not to consume, but to purify thee, and purge away thy dross. Not with silver Not with such a furious heat, nor for so long a time, as is required to melt down silver; I will not deal so rigorously with thee, for then I should wholly consume thee. In judgment I will remember mercy. It must be observed, that silver is the most difficult to be refined, and requires a hotter and clearer fire than gold and other metals. I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction I have taken this method to purge thee from thy dross, and render thee a chosen people to myself. For mine own sake will I do it Namely, this great work of delivering my people out of Babylon. For how should my name be polluted If I should not deliver my people, my name would be profaned and blasphemed, as if I were either impotent, or implacable to them. I will not give my glory unto another I will not give any colour to idolaters, to ascribe the divine nature and properties to idols, as they would do if I did not rescue my people out of their hands, in spite of their idols.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
48:9 For my name’s sake will I defer my anger, and for my praise will I refrain for thee, {k} that I cut thee not off.
(k) As it was my free mercy that I chose you: so it is my free mercy that must save you.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Even though Israel had been prone to idolatry (Isa 48:5) and had been congenitally rebellious (Isa 48:8), God had not cast her off. Why? He had made commitments to be gracious to Israel, and to honor Himself in His dealings with her, so that the rest of the world would trust Him. The fact that God did not abandon Israel when He could have done so justly manifested His grace.