Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 49:24
Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered?
24. from the mighty ] from a hero. the lawful captive ] lit. the captivity (= captives) of a righteous one. This is the only sense that the phrase will properly bear; all the attempts to construe it otherwise are futile. Many authorities, however, adopt the reading of the Pesh. and Vulg. ( instead of , as Isa 49:25), and render: “captives of a terrible one.” (1) The verse has generally been considered to be a new utterance of despair on the part of the Israelites, “Can the tyrant be made to disgorge his prey?” (Cheyne), to which Isa 49:25 gives an affirmative answer. On this view (which is certainly the one that first suggests itself) the substitution of ‘r c (terrible) for addq (righteous) seems imperative, since the latter expression could not possibly be applied to the Chaldans. To suppose that by the “hero” and the “righteous one” Cyrus is meant is at variance with the whole tenor of the prophecy (Isa 41:25, Isa 44:28, Isa 45:1 ff.). (2) Dillmann on the other hand holds that the reference in Isa 49:24 is to Jehovah, who Himself asks if any power can deprive Him of His lawful captives, the Israelites. The answer to be supplied is, “No”; and this is confirmed by Isa 49:25: “ For even the captives of a (human) hero may be delivered, yet will I (the Almighty) contend with” &c. This is not altogether natural; the antithesis of the divine hero in Isa 49:24 and a human hero in Isa 49:25 being indicated by nothing in the words. (3) A simpler view is that question and answer are related as in Isa 49:14; the question stating a supposition in the highest degree improbable (though still conceivable), and the answer conceding the possibility in order the more strongly to assert that the idea cannot be entertained with regard to Jehovah. The sense might be paraphrased as follows: “Can the captives of a mighty man be rescued from his grasp? Yes, the captives of the mighty may be delivered, but I will (victoriously) maintain thy cause against thy enemies” &c. (so, apparently, Duhm). In this case also it is better to read ‘r, which may be used in a neutral sense as in Jer 20:11 (of Jehovah). The image of Israel as the prey of Jehovah has a certain resemblance to that of the lion and his prey in ch. Isa 31:4.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
24 26. The emancipation of Israel is here regarded as having to be effected by force, and Jehovah pledges His omnipotence to the task. The bright picture of Isa 49:22 does not touch the gravest difficulty of the situation, the formidable power and settled hostility of Babylon.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Shall the prey be taken from the mighty? – This seems to be the language of Zion. It is not exactly the language of incredulity; it is the language of amazement and wonder. God had made great promises. He had promised a restoration of the captive Jews to their own land, and of their complete deliverance from the power of the Chaldeans. He had still further promised that the blessings of the true religion should be extended to the Gentiles, and that kings and queens should come and show the profoundest adoration for God and for his cause. With amazement and wonder at the greatness of these promises, with a full view of the difficulties to be surmounted, Zion asks here how it can be accomplished. It would involve the work of taking the prey from a mighty conqueror, and delivering the captive from the hand of the strong and the terrible – a work which had not been usually done.
Or the lawful captive delivered? – Margin, The captivity of the just. Lowth reads this, Shall the prey seized by the terrible be rescued? So Noyes. Lowth says of the present Hebrew text, that the reading is a palpable mistake; and that instead of tsadiyq (the just), the meaning should be aryts (the terrible). Jerome so read it, and renders it, A robusto – The prey taken by the strong. So the Syriac reads it. The Septuagint renders it, If anyone is taken captive unjustly ( adikos), shall he be saved? But there is no authority from the manuscripts for changing the present reading of the Hebrew text; and it is not necessary. The word just, here may either refer to the fact that the just were taken captive, and to the difficulty of rescuing them; or perhaps, as Rosenmuller suggests, it may be taken in the sense of severe, or rigid, standing opposed to benignity or mercy, and thus may be synonymous with severity and harshness; and the meaning may be that it was difficult to rescue a captive from the hands of those who had no clemency or benignity, such as was Babylon. Grotius understands it of those who were taken captive in a just war, or by the rights of war. But the connection rather demands that we should interpret it of those who were made captive by those who were indisposed to clemency, and who were severe and rigid in their treatment of their prisoners. The idea is, that it was difficult or almost impossible to rescue captives from such hands, and that therefore it was a matter of wonder and amazement that that could be accomplished which God here promises.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Isa 49:24-25
Shall the prey be taken from the mighty?
—
Deliverance from bondage and death
I. THE STATE OF FALLEN MAN IS ONE OF MISERY AND BONDAGE.
1. Misery because he is the prey of a mighty tyrant, the devil.
2. Bondage because he is the slave of a terrible master, death.
II. JESUS CAN SET US FREE, FOR HE HAS CONQUERED. Jesus has been the Great Emancipator of men. (T. Bates, M. A.)
Shall the prey be taken from the mighty?
I. WHO ARE THE MIGHTY, AND WHO ARE THE PREY? The immortal souls of men are the prey, and all the combined powers of darkness are the mighty.
II. HOW SHALL THE PREY BE TAKEN FROM THE MIGHTY? Nothing short of the almighty power of God is calculated to effect this great and important work. But God is almighty, and God is infinitely able and infinitely willing to rescue the helpless sons of men. Our Lord Jesus Christ is that great and glorious Being who gave, whilst here below, signal manifestations of His power to take the prey from the mighty.
III. A MOST DELIGHTFUL AND ENCOURAGING PROMISE. I will contend with him who contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children. At all times, in every season of trial and difficulty. Let the enemies of God learn an important lesson: Woe to him that striveth with his Maker! He will save His Church under all the trials and temptations, the dangers and difficulties of human life. Are the immortal souls of men the prey? and are the powers of darkness the mighty? What does the ungodly man think of this? (T. Freeman.)
The adversary and his defeat
I. THE WEAPONS AND RESOURCES OF THE ENEMY.
1. Idolatry.
2. Imposture. Mohammedanism.
3. Papal superstition.
4. The despotic governments of the earth.
5. Crime in its varied forms.
6. A more liberal sort of religion which shall keep the opposition in countenance, and enable them to wield the name and institutions of Christianity against Christianity, sustained by such as live in pleasure, and will not bow the knee to Christ.
7. The corruption of the purity of revivals of religion.
8. The sword. Can such varied and mighty resistance to the truth be overcome? Can the earth be enlightened? Can the nations be disenthralled? Yes!
II. HOW SHALL EVENTS SO DESIRABLE BE ACCOMPLISHED?
1. By the judgments of heaven.
2. By the universal propagation of the Gospel.
3. By frequent and, at last, general revivals of religion.
4. By the special influence of the Holy Spirit.
5. By a new and unparalleled vigour of Christian enterprise. But what can be done? There must be in the Church of God–
(1) More faith.
(2) More intense love for Christ.
(3) More decided action.
(4) More courage.
(5) Efforts to increase the number and power of evangelical
Churches.
(6) Special effort to secure to the rising generation an education free from the influence of bad example, and more decidedly evangelical.
(7) The vigour of charitable effort must be greatly increased.
(8) The jealousies of Christians must yield.
(9) We must guard against the dangers peculiar to a state of religious prosperity.
Conclusion–Will any take side against the cause of Christ? It will be a fearful experiment! (Lyman Beecher, D. D.)
The prey taken from the mighty
Apply the text–
I. LITERALLY–to Israels release from Babylon.
II. SPIRITUALLY–to mans redemption by Christ.
III. EXPERIMENTALLY–to the Christian’s deliverance from sin.
IV. PROSPECTIVELY–to the blessed resurrection from the dead promised to the people of God. (S. Thodey.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 24. Shall the prey be taken from the mighty – “Shall the prey seized by the terrible be rescued”] For tsaddik, read arits. A palpable mistake, like that in Isa 42:19. The correction is self-evident from the very terms of the sentence; from the necessity of the strict correspondence in the expressions between the question and the answer made to it, – and it is apparent to the blindest and most prejudiced eye. However, if authority is also necessary, there is that of the Syriac and Vulgate for it; who plainly read arits, in Isa 49:24 as well as in Isa 49:25, rendering it in the former place by the same word as in the latter. – L.
These two last verses contain a glorious promise of deliverance to the persecuted Church of Christ from the terrible one – Satan, and all his representatives and vicegerents, persecuting antichristian rulers. They shall at last cease from destroying the Church of God, and destroy one another.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Shall the prey be taken from the mighty? here he starteth an objection against the forementioned promises: How can Gods church be delivered, when she is become a prey to, and is in the hands of, her most potent enemies?
Or the lawful captive delivered? he who was taken captive in a just war, as Gods people might in some sort be said to be, because God himself had delivered them into their enemys hands, and that justly for their sins. So here is a double impediment to their deliverance out of their corporal and spiritual bondage; the great power of the enemy which kept them in bondage, and the justice of God, which pleads against them and against their deliverance.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
24. the preyIsrael, long aprey to mighty Gentile nations, whose oppression of her shall reachits highest point under Antichrist (Dan 11:36;Dan 11:37; Dan 11:41;Dan 11:45).
lawful captivethe Jewsjustly consigned for their sins (Isa50:1) as captives to the foe. Secondarily, Satan and Death are”the mighty” conquerors of man, upon whom his sin give themtheir “lawful” claim. Christ answers that claim for thesinners, and so the captive is set free (Job 19:25;Job 14:14; Mat 12:29;Hos 6:2, where Isa49:4 shows the primary reference is to Israel’srestoration, to which the resurrection corresponds;Isa 26:19; Eph 4:8;Heb 2:14; Heb 2:15).Others not so well translate, “the captives taken from among thejust Israelites.”
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Shall the prey be taken from the mighty,…. This is an objection to the accomplishment of what is predicted and promised above, taken from the power of the enemy, and his right to detain the people; and are either the words of the nations among whom the Jews were, according to Kimchi, boasting of, and presuming upon, and opposing to what is said, both their might and right, to keep the people in their own hands, bidding as it were defiance to any to attempt to take them from them; or the words of the prophet, in the name of the people, as Aben Ezra, objecting to their deliverance, doubting the effecting of it, or admiring at it: it may be applied to the taking of the Lord’s people out of the hands of Satan, who may be said to be “mighty” or “strong”, as he appears to be from his nature, a spirit; from his names, the strong man armed, a roaring lion, the great red dragon, leviathan, the piercing serpent, c. and from his power and dominion over the evil angels, and over men, both their bodies and souls; and to whom the Lord’s own people are a “prey”, while they are in a state of nature, as all mankind, and every unconverted man, be; a difficult thing it is to take any out of his hands, and a wonder of grace it is when it is done:
or the lawful captive delivered? justly and lawfully taken captive in war, as the Jews were by the Babylonians: or, “the captivity of the righteous be delivered” t; that is, either the righteous who were taken captives; or those that took them, who were so in their opinion, at least with respect to the taking of them, doing, as they judged, what was lawful and just. The people of God are in their state of nature led by Satan at his will, and are lawful captives in the judgment of him, and his principalities; and are in reality taken in war by him, and not only led captive by him at his will, but with their own will, and are justly given up unto him. Perhaps all this may be better referred to the people of God being a prey to the Romish antichrist, and detained as a lawful captive by him, and to the difficult and wonderful deliverance of them from him in the latter day; see Re 13:4. The Targum interprets this and the following verse of the captives of Esau and Ishmael, by whom seem to be meant the Pope and Turk.
t “et an captivitas justi evadet”, Montanus; “vel liberabitur”, Munster; “captiva turba justi”, Vitringa. And by the righteous Gussetius (Ebr. Comment. p. 709.) understands God the Father, who is righteous as a judge, exercising vindictive justice; and from him another person delivers us, namely, God the Son, the Messiah. A sense truly evangelical.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
There follows now a sceptical question prompted by weakness of faith; and the divine reply. The question, Isa 49:24: “Can the booty indeed be wrested from a giant, or will the captive host of the righteous escape?” The question is logically one, and only divided rhetorically into two (Ges. 153, 2). The giant, or gigantically strong one, is the Chaldean. Knobel, in opposition to Hitzig, who supposes the Persian to be referred to, points very properly to Isa 51:12-13, and Isa 52:5. He is mistaken, however, in thinking that we must read in Isa 49:24, as Ewald does after the Syriac and Jerome, on account of the parallelism. The exiles are called sh e bh tsaddq , not, however, as captives wrested from the righteous (the congregation of the righteous), as Meier thinks, taking tsaddq as the gen. obj.; still less as captives carried off by the righteous one, i.e., the Chaldean, for the Chaldean, even regarded as the accomplisher of the righteous judgment of God, is not tsaddq , but “wicked” (Hab 1:13); but merely as a host of captives consisting of righteous men (Hitzig). The divine answer, Isa 49:25, Isa 49:26: “Yea, thus saith Jehovah, Even the captive hosts of a giant are wrested from him, and the booty of a tyrant escapes: and I will make war upon him that warreth with thee, and I will bring salvation to thy children. And I feed them that pain thee with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as if with new wine; and all flesh sees that I Jehovah am thy Saviour, and that thy Redeemer is the Mighty One of Jacob.” We might take the k in Isa 49:25 as a simple affirmative, but it is really to be taken as preceded by a tacit intermediate thought. Rosenmller’s explanation is the correct one: “that which is hardly credible shall take place, for thus hath Jehovah said.” He has also given the true interpretation of gam : “although this really seems incredible, yet I will give it effect.” Ewald, on the contrary, has quite missed the sense of Isa 49:24, Isa 49:25, which he gives as follows: “The booty in men which a hero has taken in war, may indeed be taken from him again; but Jehovah will never let the booty that He takes from the Chaldean (viz., Israel) be wrested from Him again.” This is inadmissible, for the simple reason that it presupposes the emendation noita ; and this ‘ arts is quite unsuitable, partly because it would be Jehovah to whom the case supposed referred, and still more, because the correspondence in character between Isa 49:24 and Isa 49:14 is thereby destroyed. The gibbor and ‘ arts is called in Isa 49:25, with direct reference to Zion. This is a noun formed from the future, like Jareb in Hos 5:13 and Hos 10:6 – a name chosen as the distinctive epithet of the Asiatic emperor (probably a name signifying “king Fighting-cock”). The self-laceration threatened against the Chaldean empire recals to mind Isa 9:19-20, and Zec 11:9, and has as revolting a sound as Num 23:24 and Zec 9:15 -passages which Daumer and Ghillany understand in the cannibal sense which they appear to have, whereas what they understand literally is merely a hyperbolical figure. Moreover, it must not be forgotten that the Old Testament church was a nation, and that the spirit of revelation in the Old Testament assumed the national form, which it afterwards shattered to pieces. Knobel points to the revolt of the Hyrcanians and several satraps, who fought on the side of Cyrus against their former rulers ( Cyrop. iv 2, 6, v. 1-3). All this will be subservient to that salvation and redemption, which form the historical aim of Jehovah and the irresistible work of the Mighty One of Jacob. The name of God which we meet with here, viz., the Mighty One of Jacob, only occurs again in Isa 1:24, and shows who is the author of the prophecy which is concluded here. The first half set forth, in the servant of Jehovah, the mediator of Israel’s restoration and of the conversion of the heathen, and closed with an appeal to the heaven and the earth to rejoice with the ransomed church. The second half (Isa 49:14-26) rebukes the despondency of Zion, which fancies itself forgotten of Jehovah, by pointing to Jehovah’s more than maternal love, and the superabundant blessing to be expected from Him. It also rebukes the doubts of Zion as to the possibility of such a redemption, by pointing to the faithfulness and omnipotence of the God of Israel, who will cause the exiles to be wrested from the Chaldean, and their tormentors to devour one another. The following chapter commences a fresh train of ideas.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| Encouragement to Zion. | B. C. 706. |
24 Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered? 25 But thus saith the LORD, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children. 26 And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with sweet wine: and all flesh shall know that I the LORD am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.
Here is, I. An objection started against the promise of the Jews’ release out of their captivity in Babylon, suggesting that it was a thing not to be expected; for (v. 24) they were a prey in the hand of the mighty, of such as were then the greatest potentates on earth, and therefore it was not likely they should be rescued by force. Yet that was not all: they were lawful captives; by the law of God, having offended, they were justly delivered into captivity; and by the law of nations, being taken in war, they were justly detained in captivity till they should be ransomed or exchanged. Now this is spoken either, 1. By the enemies, as justifying themselves in their refusal to let them go. They plead both might and right. Proud men think all their own that they can lay their hands on and their title good if they have but the longest sword. Or, 2. By their friends, either in a way of distrust, despairing of the deliverance (“for who is able to deal with those that detain us, either by force of arms or a treaty of peace?”), or in a way of thankfulness, admiring the deliverance. “Who would have thought that ever the prey should be taken from the mighty? Yet it is done.” This is applicable to our redemption by Christ. As to Satan, we were a prey in the hand of the mighty, and yet delivered even from him that had the power of death, by him that had the power of life. As to the justice of God, we were lawful captives, and yet delivered by a price of inestimable value.
II. This objection answered by an express promise, and a further promise; for God’s promises being all yea, and amen, they may well serve to corroborate one another. 1. Here is an express promise with a non-obstante–notwithstanding to the strength of the enemy (v. 25): “Even the captives of the mighty, though they are mighty, shall be taken away, and it is to no purpose for them to oppose it; and the prey of the terrible, though they are terrible, shall be delivered; and, as they cannot with all their strength outforce, so they cannot with all their impudence outface, the deliverance, and the counsels of God concerning it.” The Lord saith thus, who, having all power and all hearts in his hands is able to make his words good. 2. Here is a further promise, showing how, and in what way, God will bring about the deliverance. He will bring judgments upon the oppressors, and so will work salvation for the oppressed: “I will contend with him that contends with thee, will plead thy cause against those that justify themselves in oppressing thee; whoever it be, though but a single person, that contends with thee, he shall know that it is at his peril, and thus I will save thy children.” The captives shall be delivered by leading captivity captive, that is, sending those into captivity that had held God’s people captive, Rev. xiii. 10. Nay, they shall have blood for blood (v. 26): “I will feed those that oppress thee with their own flesh, and they shall be drunken with their own blood. The proud Babylonians shall become not only an easy, but an acceptable, prey to one another. God will send a dividing spirit among them, and their ruin, which was begun by a foreign invasion, shall be completed by their intestine divisions. They shall bite and devour one another, till they are consumed one of another. They shall greedily and with delight prey upon those that are their own flesh and blood.” God can make the oppressors of his church to be their own tormentors and their own destroyers. The New-Testament Babylon, having made herself drunk with the blood of the saints, shall have blood given her to drink, for she is worthy. See how cruel men sometimes are to themselves and to one another: indeed those who are so to others are so to themselves, for God’s justice and men’s revenge will mete to them what they have measured to others. They not only thirst after blood, but drink it so greedily that they are drunken with it, and with as much pleasure as if it were sweet wine. If God had not more mercy on sinners than they would have one upon another were their passions let loose, the world would be soon an Aceldama, nay, a desolation.
III. See what will be the effect of Babylon’s ruin: All flesh shall know that I the Lord am thy Saviour. God will make it to appear, to the conviction of all the world, that, though Israel seem lost and cast off, they have a Redeemer, and, though they are made a prey to the mighty, Jacob has a mighty One, who is able to deal with all his enemies. God intends, by the deliverances of his church, both to notify and to magnify his own name.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
24. Shall the prey be taken from the mighty? Having solved, in the former verse, an objection which might occur to the mind of believers, he now confirms that solution still more; for it might have been thought incredible that the Jews should be rescued out of the hands of so powerful an enemy, by whom they had been taken in fair battle and reduced to slavery, He therefore adds this question as uttered by the whole of the common people, among whom it probably flew universally from mouth to mouth; and he immediately replies, as we shall sec.
Shall the captivity of the righteous (or, the righteous captivity) be delivered? And we ought, first, to observe this metaphor, that the Church is called “the prey of the mighty” and “the captivity of the righteous,” that is, lawful captivity. He is said to be the “righteous” possessor who is the lawful possessor; just as the prey, when the war has been righteous, passes into the hands of a righteous possessor. (13) Such was the condition of the ancient people, after having been driven into captivity; for, along with their native country, they had lost their liberty, and were entirely in the power, and at the disposal, of the conqueror. And yet we ought carefully to observe this metaphor, that the Church is oppressed by the tyranny of princes, and exposed to the jaws of wolves, and nevertheless is supposed to be their “just” prey. This is, indeed, shamefully wicked; but thus were our fathers treated, and we are not more virtuous or more excellent than our fathers.
(13) “ Quand la guerre est juste, celuy qui prend la prove est juste possesseur d’icelle.” “When the war is righteous, he who takes the prey is the righteous possessor of it.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
THE PREY TAKEN FROM THE MIGHTY
Isa. 49:24-26. Shall the prey be taken from the mighty? &c.
The history of Gods love to His people is a ground of encouragement and hope to the Church in all aftertime, because God, human nature, and the power and influence of religion are always the same. The text turns upon the difficulty of conveying hope and comfort to disconsolate minds. The prophet had been giving to the disconsolate glorious promises of the future restoration of the Church (Isa. 49:18-23), but he was met by the difficulty of their inability to believe that those promises could be fulfilled. They asked, thinking that only an unfavourable answer could be given to their question, Shall the prey, &c. Mark the confidence of the prophets answer, But thus saith the Lord, &c. Various lawful, instructive, and encouraging uses may be made of our text.
I. Apply the text literally to Israels release from Babylon. The captives saw great and apparently insuperable difficulties in the way of their restoration. The news seemed too good to be true. There was the great strength of the Babylonian empire, and their unbelief argues, Shall the prey be taken from the mighty? There was the fact that they were a conquered people, and that their enemies, according to the usages of war, had an accredited right to hold them in subjection. Shall the lawful captive be delivered? [1520] Then they had no alliances, and no hold upon the political sympathies of foreign nations; and lastly, there was their own incapacity of self-belief, their wives and children being with them in the power of the enemy, as so many hostages for their good conduct.
[1520] The lawful captive has been rendered the captive of the strong (Herd.), of the stern or severe (Schult., Rosenm.), of the victorious (Mich., Beck), of the terrible, by a conjectural change of reading (Hitz., Lowth, Knob., Ewald), righteous captives, i.e., exiled Jews (Symm., Jareh., Aben Ezra, Hitz., Hahn), the plunder of the righteous, i.e., taken from them (Ges., Maurer, Umbreil). But the received version (Stier) gives the true meaning, the captive of one who has a rightful claim to keep another in bondage. There is a climax, seldom noticed, in the reply; and a threefold gradation, of a simply rightful, a powerful, and a terrible conqueror; of one who has a just claim, one who has also power to maintain it, and one whose power is so terrible that resistance seems hopeless. Shall the prey of the mighty be taken away, or even a captive justly claimed, though by one less mighty, be delivered? Not in the common course of things, or by human justice alone. But Gods grace has a higher law, and even more than this shall be done: the prey of the most terrible among Zions adversaries shall be delivered.Birks.
Note how amply the promises of the text meet these sources of discouragement. It is answered by a Thus saith the Lord, i.e., hopeless as the case may seem to you, all the difficulties shall give way when I interpose. Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, &c.; though they be a nation strong and powerful, ye shall be rescued from their hands, for I will oppose My strength and wisdom to theirs, and the resources of My providence to all the pride of their power. God Himself would come down into the field as their champion: I will contend, &c. Nay, more: He promises to make the ruin of the foe conspicuous as the deliverance of His friends. I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh, and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as sweet wine; i.e., He would cause them to destroy one another with as much eagerness as half-famished men fall upon a well-furnished table; they shall hasten to that banquet of blood with as much fervour as men hasten to a banquet of wine. The historian tells us that on the night in which Babylon was taken many of the Chaldeans fell off from Belshazzar and joined the standard of Cyrus; they were themselves most forward in surprising the city, and showing the way into the kings palace, where they slew him and all his attendants. Thus the promise of the text was fulfilled by the overthrow of the reigning government, and the introduction of a new dynasty to the throne. So completely was this done, that the captives were as much overpowered by the greatness of their deliverance as they had before been confounded by the depth of the calamity (Psa. 126:1).
Learn, then, how fully God can make good His promises, and disperse the worst fears of His people. The Lord can clear the darkest skies. And He does it with as much tenderness as power (Isa. 49:15). The captives feared more for their beloved families than for themselves, as you do for yours, and the promise respects them: And I will save thy children.
II. Apply it spiritually to mans redemption by Christ. To the convicted sinner, human redemption has often seemed incompatible with the inalienable claims of Divine justice, which seem to demand that the punishment of the transgressors should take its course. God cannot connive at sin; and the law we have broken is holy, just, and good, as necessary to the happiness of the universe as it is essential to the glory of God; a law too good to be repealed, too sacred to be trifled with; the abrogation of it would dethrone the Deity, and pour anarchy through all the worlds He has made (H. E. I. 3157, 3188). How then shall the great dilemma which sin has introduced be met? If mercy triumphs, justice is tarnished; if justice prevail, man is overthrown for ever. Mere power has no force in regard to moral questions; it cannot make right wrong, or wrong right. To solve this question was a task for Omniscience: God dealt with it, and through Scripture has made known to us its solution (Isa. 53:5-6; Rom. 3:19-26, &c.; H. E. I. 375382, 396). Justice triumphs in the death of Christ, and mercy triumphs in the pardon of penitent sinners through Him. The very idea of redemption turns upon this point. It means the buying back again of lost and forfeited good, by a compensative arrangement between the parties. In ancient times the lives of prisoners taken in war were held to be at the disposal of the conqueror, and the acceptance of a stipulated ransom was the established mode of buying back the lives and liberty of the prisoners. The law of God, with all the forces of the universe behind it, must be in the end the conqueror of all who rebel against it, and in the Gospel we are told that the ransom-price was the death of Christ, who gave Himself for us and suffered in our stead (1Pe. 1:18). The ransom was sufficient (H. E. I. 377381).
III. Apply the text experimentally to the Christians deliverance from sin.
1. Jesus not only made atonement for our sins; He at the same time contended with and overcame our worst enemies. Man was the willing servant of the powers of darkness; not a forced captive, but a ready subject of Satan. But, by dying, Jesus overcame him who had dominion over our race (Heb. 4:14-15; Eph. 4:8). He literally made good the promise, I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children.
2. In converting grace, the triumph is the same; and in the experience of the penitent sinner it is continually renewed (Luk. 4:18; Luk. 11:20-22). Christs people are pardoned and delivered from the power of sin in all its forms; in every conflict He gives them victory, and He will do so to the end (Rom. 6:14; Rom. 8:37; H. E. I. 1099, 1106, 11121119).
IV. Apply it prospectively to the blessed resurrection from the dead promised to the people of God.Samuel Thodey.
Both in providence and grace, mans extremity is Gods opportunity. Of this, the Jews needed to be reminded. They had been taken into captivity, and were detained there for the punishment of their sins. They had been assured that God would deliver them in due time, but the difficulties in the way of the fulfilment of that promise seemed so insuperable, that they despairingly asked, Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered? To this question Isaiah was authorised confidently to give a reassuring reply (Isa. 49:25).
I. To this question there was an answer in the deliverance of the Jewish people from the tyranny of Egypt. The history of what God did for their fathers should have prevented the Jews in Babylon from asking this question. But in every new extremity men are prone to forget the history of the past.
II. There was an answer to this question in the deliverance of the people of God from their captivity in Babylon. It seemed impossible, but it was accomplished, and in precisely the manner that God had predicted. These things were written for our learning!
III. There was an answer to this question in the great work of human redemption effected by Christ on the Cross. That seemed the hour of Satans victory; it was the hour of his defeat (Col. 2:14-15).
IV. There are answers to this question in the conversion of sinners by the preaching of the Gospel. The glorious work of emancipation still goes on (Luk. 4:18; 2Co. 10:4).
V. There will be an answer to this question when our Redeemer returns with power and great glory. Then death and the grave shall be compelled to give up their prey; and death and hell shall be cast into the lake of fire.W. Dransfield: Forty-six Short Sermons, pp. 239264.
I. The enemy to be encountered. Satan, an enemy that is mighty and terrible.
1. In the nature of his influence. On the intellectual and moral manthe immortal soul.
2. In the number of his agents. A legion against one.
3. In the extent of his territory.
II. The captives he retains.
1. Those who are born where he reigns unrivalled. Idolatrous countries.
2. Those who yield to his sway, though deliverance is at hand. Pharisees. Hardened sinners.
III. The prospect of deliverance.
1. The price of their redemption is provided.
2. The agent that can make it effective.
3. The means are in operation to make the deliverance known.
4. Specimens of triumph already obtained.
IV. The means to be employed.
1. Fervent and importunate prayer.
2. Free and extensive diffusion of the charter of libertyThe Word of God.Studies for the Pulpit, part ii. p. 308.
RESOURCES OF THE ADVERSARY, AND MEANS OF THEIR DESTRUCTION
(Missionary Sermon.)
Isa. 49:24-25. Thus saith the Lord, &c.
The Scriptures teach that sin commenced its reign on earth under the auspices of a mighty fallen spirit; and that he, having seduced mankind from their allegiance to God, has constantly maintained his bad eminence overthem. They also teach, that the Son of God has interposed to destroy the works of this spirit; and that He will accomplish the object; that the power of Satan shall be broken, and the whole world be restored to loyalty and the favour of heaven. Other passages allude to the success with which the enemy of God has fortified his cause; to its final overthrow; and to the exultation and joy with which the event will fill earth and heaven (chap. Isa. 53:12; Luk. 11:21-22; Rev. 11:15; Rev. 19:5-6). An alienated world requires more moral power for its restoration than that of simple law, which proved insufficient to maintain its allegiance. It requires a new moral influence, so introduced and applied as to corroborate law, and strengthen the loyalty of all the good, while rebels are reconciled and pardoned. Consider
I. THE WEAPONS AND RESOURCES OF THE ENEMY.
1. At the head of opposition to the Gospel, in numerical power, must be placed idolatry. To banish from the earth all knowledge of God and His government, and substitute a worship composed of lust and blood, seems most desirable to the great adversary, where circumstances allow it to be done; and this he has achieved in respect to about six hundred millions of the human family.
2. Imposture. This was introduced by Mahomed. It was a system accommodated to the condition of a mingled population, composed of Pagans, Jews, and nominal Christians, all in a state of great ignorance and deep moral debasement.
3. Papal superstition. This has been, and is still, the master-piece of that wisdom which is from beneath; concentrating the bad influence of all past systems. Popery is a system where science and ignorance, refinement and barbarism, wisdom and stupidity, taste and animalism, mistaken zeal and malignant enmity, may sanctimoniously pour out their virulence against the Gospel, and cry Hosanna! while they go forth to shed the blood and to wear out the patience of the saints.
4. The despotic governments of the earth.
5. Crime in its varied forms. A vast amount of capital is embarked in enterprises which, directly or indirectly, war against morality. All this, when the spirit of Christianity shall prevail, will be contraband, and be withdrawn.
6. A more liberal sort of religion which shall keep the opposition in countenance, and enable them to wield the name and institutions of Christianity against Christianityincluding so much truth as may serve to beguile, but so little as cannot avail to savesustained by such as live in pleasure, and will not bow the knee to Christ.
7. The corruption of the purity of revivals of religion. Terrible, by the power of revivals, as an army with banners, the victory of the Church is secure, unless fanaticism can be substituted for pure-religion, and her compact masses be broken and scattered by the commotion of unhallowed passions within. In this manner was the glory of the Reformation eclipsed, and vital religion, in the time of Cromwell, made a scoff and a by-word. The same attempt was made in New England early in the days of our fathers. It was repeated in the time of White-field and the immortal Edwards, with lamentable, though with but partial success.
8. All these great divisions of systematic opposition to the Gospel have, where circumstances allowed, been supplemented by the sword. Christianity, in her first attempt to disenthrall the world, met the storms of ten persecutions, protracted through a period of three hundred years.
And now, can such varied and mighty resistance to the truth be overcome? Can the earth be enlightened? Can the nations be disenthralled? Can the whole creation, which has groaned and travailed together in pain until now, be brought out of bondage into glorious liberty? Yes; all this can be done, and will be done. Our next inquiry then is,
II. HOW SHALL EVENTS SO DESIRABLE BE ACCOMPLISHED?
1. By the judgments of heaven, in which the Son of man will come upon the strong man armed and take away his armour.
2. By the universal propagation of the Gospel; before the light of which, idolatry, imposture, and superstition, will retreat abashed.
3. By frequent, and at last, general revivals of religion; giving resistless power to the Gospel, as it is preached to every creature.
4. By the special influence of the Holy Spirit. The simple presence of Christianity would no more convert the heathen, than it converts those where it already exists. Were every family on earth now blessed with a Bible and a pastor, these, without the effusion of the Spirit, would not maintain upon the earth an uncorrupt, nominal Christianity for one hundred years.
5. By a new and unparalleled vigour of Christian enterprise. Until then, the Church will have been the assailed party, and stood upon the defensive; but thenceforth the word of command will not be Stand, but March. The gates of the holy city will be thrown open; the tide of war will be rolled upon the enemy; and one shall chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight. The means and efforts for evangelising the world must correspond, however, with the magnitude of the result. The idea that God will convert the heathen in His own good time, and that Christians have nothing to do but to pray and devoutly wait, is found in no canonical book. From the beginning the cause of God on earth has been maintained and carried forward only by the most heroic exertion. Christianity, even in the age of miracles, was not propagated but by stupendous efforts. And it is only by a revival of primitive zeal and enterprise that the glorious things spoken of the city of our God can be accomplished.
But what can be done? There must be in the church of God
1. More faith.
2. More intense love for Christ.
3. More decided action.
4. More courage.
5. New and more vigorous efforts to increase the number and power of evangelical churches in our lands.
6. Special effort is required to secure to the rising generation an education free from the influence of bad example, and more decidedly evangelical.
7. The vigour of charitable effort must be greatly increased.
8. The jealousies of Christians who are united substantially in their views of evangelical doctrine and religion, and who are divided only by localities, and rites, and forms, must yield, and give place to the glorious exigencies of the present day.
9. We must guard against the dangers peculiar to a state of religious prosperity.
CONCLUSION.Will any of you, in this glorious day, take side against the cause of Christ? It will be a fearful experiment. And woe unto him who contendeth with his Maker!Lyman Beecher, D.D.: Missionary Enterprise, pp. 121142. (Boston Edition.)
THE SAFETY OF THE CHURCH
Isa. 49:25. And all flesh shall know, &c.
I. God is the protector of the Church, and no weapons formed against her shall prosper. The efforts which have been made to destroy the Church of God have been vain. Israel in Egypt, in the wilderness, in Babylon, and under Antiochus Epiphanes. The early persecutions of the Christians in Judea, in the Roman Empire. The persecution of the Waldenses in Switzerland; of the Huguenots in France; and of the Reformers in England. The gates of hell shall not prevail against her (H. E. I. 12461251).
II. The Churchs enemies shall be distracted in their counsels, and left to anarchy and overthrow. God will fill the ranks of His foes with confusion, and suffer them to be torn and distracted with internal strifes.
III. The Church shall rise resplendent from all her persecutions, and shall prosper ultimately, just in proportion to their efforts to destroy it. The effect of all shall be the diffusion of the Gospel among all nations, and to bring all men to acknowledge that He who thus protects His Church is the true and only Godthe Saviour, the Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.Adapted from Barnes Commentary.
SALVATION FOR THE LITTLE ONES
Isa. 49:25. I will save thy children.
This promise of salvation for the children has made the heart of many a pious parent thrill with delight. The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice. In fact, worldly and even wicked parents are often glad to see their children religious. They admire and approve in them that religion which they know, to their sorrow, they are neglecting themselves. If an appeal were made to the adult members of an ordinary congregation as to whether a minister ought to urge religion upon the attention of children, all as with one voice would respond, By all means try to save the little ones. This blessed promise, I will save thy children, will be regarded by such as one of the most precious in the Bible.
I. TO WHOM THIS PRECIOUS PROMISE IS MADE. The verses which cluster around it possess more than common interest. They depict scenes radiant with the glory of Zions successes and triumphs. In the midst of all these glorious triumphs, this heart-cheering promise comes in, and I will save thy children.
Viewing those words in the light thrown upon them by these surroundings, may we not safely say, This is a part of the heritage of Gods Church? And are we not to expect that the Lord will fulfil His promise in a special manner at a time when His church is reviving and multiplying? Is not the salvation of the children here placed before us as the crowning glory of Christs Church, when she is in the full tide of her prosperity? Is it not made to you, and on behalf of your children?
Let each pious parent at once put in his claim, Lord, Thou hast specially promised to save my children; now fulfil Thy gracious word. Let me see them holy, useful, and happy here; let me hereafter meet them in heaven. According to Thy word, I look for this. While I pray, watch, and work for the salvation of my children, I am expecting Thee to verify the truth of Thy promise and to save them. Those parents who connect with this spirit of prayerful expectation a godly and winsome example, will soon see their children happy in God.
II. LET US TRY TO REALISE, IF WE CAN, ITS FULL IMPORT. The word save, when linked to the souls of our children, is indeed a gem of purest ray serene. Its price is above rubies. Who can fathom its import? And who can rightly realise the terrible antithesis, ones child unsaved? capable of conversion, old enough to understand and experience real religion, and yet UNSAVED! Illustrate the spiritual condition of such. [1523]
[1523] Let us picture to our minds a child very poor, dreadfully diseased, and miserably enslaved. Every right-hearted parent is distressed to see his child poor, clad in rags, bedded on straw, pale and pinched with hunger. Add to poverty, disease: the rosy bloom has disappeared from the cheek. The little frame is wasting to a skeleton. Life is a burden, and the grave is opening to entomb your fondest hopes. Add to poverty and disease, slavery: your child the property of another, who claims him as his own and subjects him to all the degradation and misery of a galling servitude! What would be your feelings as a parent had you a child in such circumstances as these? Methinks it would be enough to make your life a burden. Have you a child unsaved? Then is he not poor? miserably poor? Has not sin robbed him of peace and purity? Does it not threaten to rob him of heaven and hope? Is not your unsaved child diseased? full of the leprosy of sin? sick unto death? Does not Satan bind his captive soul fast in his slavish chains? Is he not held in the most cruel bondage by the worst of tyrants? You know that all this is true, that it is no over-coloured picture. In fact, it is only part of the truth. Your unsaved child is under sentence of death. The soul that sinneth, it shall die. That sentence might be executed by Divine justice at any moment. What then is to become of your poor, diseased, enslaved, and doomed child?Page.
Save! Nothing less than the unsearchable riches of Christ. Health for the soul, complete liberty from the bondage of sin, the glorious liberty of the children of God. These four letters SAVE include the gift of God, which is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
This promise specially belongs to Gods own people. Does not this furnish one of the strongest reasons why unconverted parents should seek religion? How sacred and solemn is the parental relationship! Every child is a fallen, though a redeemed, sinner; and each will be saved or lost for ever. Yet how few unsaved parents think of the eternal ruin that thus threatens their own children.G. A. Page.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(24) Shall the prey be taken . . .?The question is asked by Zion in her little faith. The next phrase, lawful captive, literally captive of righteousness, may mean, (1) as in the Authorised version a captive whom the conqueror had a right to take, or (2) one who was righteous and yet had been given into captivity. Neither meaning is quite satisfactory. A conjectural emendation gives the captives of the terrible one, which fits in with the parallelism of the next verse.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
24-26. Shall the prey be taken from the mighty An objection is logically started, but in the interest of Zion, and to remove the last ground of fear. Through the prophet, God has promised the most marvellous things. From an earthly view they seem impossible. Can it be possible, it is asked, to take captives out of the clutches of mighty ones and bring them to Zion?
Terrible Literally, giants in oppression and tyranny; the “terrible” of the text. Already almighty Jehovah has arranged this. Every contender with him in respect to Zion will but overdo his case. “Terrible” he may think himself, and so seem to men of weak faith; but he shall be as the “terrible” one of Assyria, (chap. xiv,) overwhelmed with revilings in sheol the underworld on the walls whereof only the weak shadow of his giantship could be found. Contenders of such sort, terrible and cruel, and permitted to be unconquerable for a mere day, are sent by Jehovah to their doom of discords and internal strifes, wherein they gorge on each other’s flesh and blood, and by the law of retribution precipitate themselves to inevitable self ruin. Such seems to be the meaning of Isa 49:25-26.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Isa 49:24-26. Or the lawful captive delivered? Or the captive company of the rigorous or terrible one be delivered? [read orits for zadik, with St. Jerome.] Isa 49:25. Yea, thus saith the Lord, &c. God had promised very great and excellent things to his church; but to a person seriously considering the state of that church, and comparing it with the power and strength of its enemies, and particularly its chief enemy, Satan, who held the nations in ignorance and darkness, a doubt naturally arose, whether it could possibly be, that this prey, so long possessed by Satan, could be extorted from him, so that he might be driven from his strong fort, and the rulers of the world held in subjection by him might be delivered from their servitude. Isaiah resolves this doubt of the church, and teaches, that it should certainly come to pass that Satan, this mighty one, should be driven from his fort, his captives delivered, Isa 49:25 and the adversaries of the church perish by their mutual slaughter of each other; Isa 49:26 which is to be understood metaphorically, and refers to the intestine wars by which princes and people, armed to their mutual destruction, plunge their destroying swords in each other’s bowels, and as it were feed upon each other’s flesh and blood. See chap. Isa 9:19-20. Zec 11:9 and Rev 16:6. Nothing can be more remarkably fulfilled than this prophesy was in the time of Dioclesian, to which it may in its primary sense refer; though certainly it has reference to the universal spread of the Gospel in the latter days.
REFLECTIONS.1st, The former chapter related chiefly to the salvation of the Jews; this looks much farther, even to the salvation of Gentiles as well as Jews, through the preaching of the Gospel.
1. The isles are summoned to attend the word of their God and Saviour, which should go forth into all lands; and distant realms are called to hear the glad tidings of salvation through a Redeemer.
2. His mission and authority are set forth. The Lord hath called me from the womb, from eternity, to be a prophet, priest, and king to his faithful people; from, or before, the bowels of my mother hath made mention of my name, his name Jesus being given him by the angel before his conception. And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; so piercing and powerful his word, that the powers of darkness fell down before it, and deep conviction seized the sinners’ hearts; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, during the days of infancy, when Herod sought to destroy him; and made me a polished shaft, or choice arrow, bright and sharp. In his quiver hath he hid me, till the fulness of time came that he should be manifested in the flesh; and said unto me, Thou art my servant, (for in this form he consented to appear,) O Israel, in whom I will be glorified, God’s perfections being never so eminently displayed, as in the salvation wrought out by his incarnate Son.
3. He complains of the little effect that his preaching produced on the Jewish people: he laboured in vain, and spent his strength for nought. They paid no attention to his miracles, nor were convinced by his word; yet God knew the fidelity with which he discharged his trust, and his word was approved, and would be rewarded by him. Note; (1.) It is no uncommon complaint for ministers to make, that to the most of their congregations they labour in vain. (2.) We must not be discouraged if we see not all the success that we hoped for: when we are conscious of our own simplicity, we may quietly leave the matter in the hands of God. (3.) It is not always lost labour, where the effects are not immediately seen: the seed which Christ sowed in his life grew most plentifully after his death. (4.) Our success enters not so much into our reward, as our fidelity.
4. With two encouraging promises God answers his complaints. He had formed him to be his servant, and appointed him to seek and save the lost sheep of the house of Israel. But though the people in general rejected his Gospel, yet, [1.] He should be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and God would be his strength, to carry him through all the difficulties of his arduous work. Thus we see him attended by angels at his birth, ministered to by then in his agony, transfigured on the mount, ascending from the dead, and exalted to the right hand of the Majesty on high. [2.] He should not merely be a Saviour to the faithful Israelites; but on the Gentiles his light should arise, and his salvation be spread to the ends of the earth; whence converts would be gathered into the church, unspeakably more numerous than those of his own nation, who should reject him: and this we see in part fulfilled, and fulfilling daily, till the fulness of the Gentiles shall come in. Note; (1.) The soul is in utter darkness till Christ in his Gospel enlightens the eyes of our minds, and guides us into paths of peace. (2.) Christ is the only salvation for lost man; out of him there is no hope.
2nd, We have,
1. The humiliation and exaltation of the Lord Jesus. God the Father, the Redeemer of Israel, encourages his dear Son under his abasement: in the days of his flesh he would be despised of men, abhorred of his own nation, and crucified; a servant of rulers, insulted by the Jewish and Roman chiefs: yet great was the glory to which he should be advanced: the kings of the earth should do him homage, and princes bow down to him; as was the case when the Roman empire under Constantine embraced the profession of Christianity, and will be more abundantly fulfilled when all nations shall come and worship before him.
2. God promises him all support in the day of his trouble. He will answer his prayers, and help him in the trying hour, when on the cross he hung, accomplishing the great atonement for sinful man. Note; (1.) Whenever the penitent lifts up his soul in prayer to God, he will find it an acceptable time. (2.) God never forsakes the sincere seeker in his distress, but will succour and save him at his cry.
3. He is assured that he shall see of the travail of his soul in the salvation of his faithful people. I will give thee for a covenant of the people, as their great covenant-head and representative, in whom they would be accepted, and entitled to the blessings of grace and glory, which by his blood and infinite merit he obtained for them; to establish or raise up the earth, and cause to inherit the desolate heritages; by the preaching of his Gospel, replenishing his church from the Gentile world, which before was desolate, and the members of it comparatively few, that thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Shew yourselves; the souls of sinners being under the bands of iniquity, shut up in the darkness of ignorance and error, and obnoxious to the justice of God, till Christ by his pardoning word cancels our guilt, by his renewing grace enlightens our minds, and brings us forth into the glorious liberty of the sons of God, to shew forth the change that he hath wrought, and therein to make his glory to appear. And those who are thus brought to him in faiththey shall feed in the ways, in the word and ordinances of God; and their pastures shall be in all high places, where there is plenty of nourishment, and safety from all attacks. They shall not hunger nor thirst, shall want no temporal or spiritual good; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them; God will preserve them from the power of temptation, and cover them from the severity of persecution. For he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, with all the tenderness of a shepherd: even by the springs of water shall he guide them, filling their souls with consolations, and, as they are under divine conduct, making them happy in divine comfort. Every obstacle in their way shall be removed; I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be exalted, that the faithful may see the straight path before them, and walk safely and securely therein: and as, at Cyrus’s proclamation, the Jews assembled from all parts of the land of Chaldea to return to Zion; so, in greater numbers, shall converts flock into the church of Christ. Behold! the glorious sight; these shall come from far: and lo! these from the north, and from the west, and these from the land of Sinim; from all quarters of the globe whither his Gospel should go forth, multitudes should join themselves to the Lord, which, in the apostles’ days, was eminently verified, and shall be yet more abundantly seen in the latter days. Note; (1.) Christ is our covenant-head; and by faith all the blessings of this new covenant are derived from him. (2.) Miserable is the sinner’s state, till Christ comes to set him free; yet how many sleep careless in their chains, and never consider that the darkness of sin must shortly issue in the outer darkness of hell! (3.) True believers are the Saviour’s peculiar care, and he will see that they shall want no manner of thing that is good. (4.) The way to glory hath difficulties, but none so great but that Almighty grace can make us more than conquerors. (5.) Were we left to ourselves a moment, how quickly should we like silly sheep go astray? Blessed be God, we are not left to our own keeping, but are under the care of a watchful shepherd!
3rdly, The deliverance of Israel from Babylon was just matter of abundant joy: but how much greater is due for the redemption of Jesus, the desire of all nations?
1. The whole creation is represented as bursting forth into songs of joy on this glorious event. The afflicted are comforted, the miserable find mercy, and heaven and earth unite to celebrate the Saviour’s praise. Note; We can never be thankful enough for redeeming love, nor will eternity suffice to speak the praises of our Lord.
2. The state of despondence into which Zion had fallen served to heighten the joy of their deliverance. Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me: in their long captivity they were ready to faint, and despair of relief; and many a time the church of God has been reduced so low, driven by persecution into the desert, that it seemed forsaken of God. And thus it is with too many in seasons of temptation, when under darkness they are ready to despair, and give up all for lost. But hear,
3. God’s answer to Zion’s complaint: nothing can be conceived more expressive of his love, tenderness, and care, toward his believing people. Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Strange as it may appear, such an unnatural monster might perhaps be found; but, with tenderness infinitely surpassing, God never forgets, never ceases to love and protect those simple souls that hang upon him. On his hands they are engraved, and as a signet precious to him. Perhaps some allusion may be had to the prints of the nails in the hands of Jesus, the love-marks which he bears for the sake of his faithful people. Thy children shall make haste, or thy builders; either Gospel-ministers, who should assiduously labour to build up the church, or converts that should flock into it; while thy destroyers, and they that made thee waste, shall go forth of thee; the Babylonians, or rather all the persecutors and corruptors of God’s church, such as antichrist and his followers, who shall be destroyed at the coming of Jesus, and cast into outer darkness. Note; (1.) The love of Christ toward his believing people is so surpassing great, that wherever it is truly believed and known, it cannot but powerfully constrain the heart. (2.) When Christ calls, we must make no delay. (3.) The damnation of the wicked is as sure as the salvation of the faithful.
4thly, Great and precious promises of the increase and glory of the church are here revealed. A glimpse of this appeared when the Jews returned from their captivity; a brighter, display of it was made when the Gospel was first preached; but the full blaze seems yet reserved for the times to come, when all nations shall be called to the obedience of the faith.
1. A vast increase shall be made to the church. Lift up thine eyes; behold the numerous converts assembling from every quarter, ornaments to their profession by the holiness of their lives, as the jewels which adorn a bride. Thy waste and thy desolate places, the countries before destitute of true religion shall be filled with faithful souls, and all their enemies confounded shall perish. The children which thou shalt have, after thou hast lost the other, cut off by the persecuting powers of the earth, shall spring up as a plenteous harvest, from the blood of the slain martyrs; or, the children of thy widowhood, when the church seemed bereft of all her sons and daughters by the prevalence of the man of sin, shall say again, or, shall yet say in thine ears, The place it too strait for me; such a sudden and strange increase of converts shall be made. With pleasing surprise the glad mother shall behold the children that God hath given her, and, wondering, inquire who hath begotten them, and whence they come, so unexpected a comfort to her widowed state; and the answer is, They come from Gentile lands, called by the word of Gospel-grace, and listed under the banners of a crucified Jesus; and so eager are they to have a place in the spiritual Zion, that the weak and feeble are borne upon the shoulders of the strong; or, they will bring their children with them, and enroll them in the visible church: and perhaps it may also refer to the assistance which the Gentiles shall give the Jews, when the Gospel shall be preached to them with power. Note; (1.) However low the church may be reduced, her latter end shall have great increase. (2.) They who have a concern for their own souls, cannot but be solicitous that others, especially their own children, may be brought to the knowledge of Christ and his Gospel.
2. The church shall not only be increased in number, but be highly honoured. Kings shall be nursing-fathers, and queens nursing-mothers to it; such as Cyrus, Ahasuerus, and Esther, were to the Jews; or rather such as Constantine and Helena, and other Christian monarchs, have been; and which will be still farther seen, when all the kingdoms of the world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ. They shall bow down to thee with their face towards the earth, with profoundest submission, and lick up the dust of thy feet; ready to serve the church in the lower offices, and to shew affection and regard to the meanest of Christ’s members. And thou shalt know that I am the Lord, by such wondrous exertion of his power to make all nations obedient to the faith; for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me; the performance of all his promises shall be seen in their season, and the hopes of his waiting people shall never be disappointed; therefore, my soul, trust thou still in the Lord!
5thly, Deliverance is promised, but great difficulties are in the way.
1. We have an objection, raised either by their proud oppressors, as despising the prophetic word; or by the unbelieving Jews, as distrusting it, Shall the prey be taken from the mighty? such as were the Babylonian monarchs; or the lawful captive be delivered? of which so little probability appeared. And this is applicable to our souls taken captive by the devil, and by our willing servitude surrendered into his hands, who is strong to keep his prisoners; and it is a miracle of mercy if any sinner be rescued from his bands.
2. God, by express promise, assures his people that it shall be done. Mighty as their oppressors are, and terrible, they are not too great for God to cope with. He will espouse their quarrel, overcome their foes, and save their children, plucking them from the power of their enemies. Nay, he will do more; he will utterly consume their enemies, will visit them with the sorest judgments, and make the world acknowledge his power to abase his foes, and his love toward his faithful children. And this is spiritually fulfilled daily in the souls of sinners, by divine grace delivered from the bonds of sin and Satan (that strong man armed), and saved from all their enemies; and will also literally be fulfilled in the destruction of antichrist, and the persecuting powers of Popery, Paganism, and Mahometanism, when Christ shall make his glory to appear, and all the world be forced to own both his power to save and to destroy to the uttermost.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
DISCOURSE: 954
DESPONDING FEARS REMOVED
Isa 49:24-26. Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered? But thus saith the Lord, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee: and I will save thy children. And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh: and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with sweet wine: and all flesh shall know that I the Lord am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.
THE human mind is prone to extremes. Before we come into trials, we think them easy to be borne: but, when oppressed with them, we are apt to sink under them as an insupportable burthen. The Jews, previous to their captivity in Babylon, would never believe that such an event could take place: but, when they felt the galling yoke, they could not at all conceive that their Church should ever behold such glorious days as they were encouraged to expect. Certainly, humanly speaking, there was reason enough for them to despair: for they were in a state of the most abject slavery; the people by whom they were enslaved were the most powerful of any upon earth; and they had a consciousness, that they had sold themselves into that very state, by their iniquities. Hence they ask, Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered? To this, however, God gives them a most gracious answer, assuring them, that he will interpose effectually in their behalf, and deliver them for his own names sake.
But we must not confine the words to the Jewish Church. They may properly be applied to Gods people in all ages; and be considered as representing,
I.
Their desponding fears
Whilst men are living as without God in the world, they are for the most part unconscious of any danger; or at least they think that they are in no danger from which they may not easily be delivered. But as soon as they are awakened to a sense of their lost condition, they are apt to yield to the most discouraging apprehensions, on account of,
1.
Their weakness
[They see that they have been in a state of captivity all their days, having been taken alive, as it were, by the devil, and been led captive by him at his will [Note: 2Ti 2:26. .]. And how shall they ever recover themselves from his snares? He is a god, even the god of this world, who ruleth in all the children of disobedience [Note: 2Co 4:4. Eph 2:2.]. Shall the prey be taken from one who is so mighty? As well might a lamb hope to deliver itself out of the jaws of a lion, as they to liberate themselves from that roaring lion who is just ready to devour them [Note: 1Pe 5:8.] ]
2.
Their desert
[It is not their misfortune merely, but their fault, that they are in this sad bondage: they have sold themselves to it by their iniquities [Note: Isa 50:1.]: as Esau bartered away his rights of primogeniture for a mess of pottage [Note: Heb 12:16.], so have they their liberty. They have chosen the gratifications of the flesh from the very first moment that they began to net: the indulgence of their corrupt inclinations was more to them than the favour of their God; so that by continual and wilful habits they have confirmed their natural propensities, and riveted the chains which Adam forged. Feeling themselves thus sold under sin [Note: Rom 7:14.], and become, as it were, the lawful property of Satan, they ask, Shall the lawful captive be delivered? The many acts of wilful transgression by which they have given him a right over them, appear an insurmountable bar to their deliverance, insomuch that the dry bones in Ezekiels vision scarcely appear in a more hopeless state than they [Note: Eze 37:11.]. In this view of their just desert, they are tempted to say, There is no hope [Note: Jer 2:25.].]
These feelings however may well be assuaged by,
II.
The gracious promises of God to them
It is delightful to observe how directly God meets the wants and wishes of his people: the very language of their fears is here adopted by him, and made the vehicle of his promises to their souls. He engages that,
1.
He himself will interpose for their deliverance
[In a most wonderful way did he rescue his people from their captivity in Babylon. He raised up against that city an enemy; and, in the precise way that he had foretold, delivered it into his hands, even into the hands of Cyrus, whom he had specified by name above two hundred years before he existed in the world! and by him he dealt to the Babylonians that measure which they had before meted to his people [Note: See Jeremiah 31 especially ver. 35, 36, 49, 56.], feeding them with their own flesh, and making them drunk with their own blood. And thus will he bruise Satan also under his peoples feet [Note: Rom 16:20.]. Strong as Satan is, God has raised up against him One stronger than he, who has overcome him, and taken from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and utterly despoiled him [Note: Luk 11:21-22.]. The Lord Jesus came on purpose to destroy the works of the devil [Note: 1Jn 3:8.]; and he did destroy them. Upon the cross he triumphed over him openly [Note: Col 2:15.], and by his own death utterly destroyed him, and delivered from his power millions whom he had held in the most cruel bondage [Note: Heb 2:14-15.]. In his resurrection and ascension he led captive, as it were at his chariot wheels, this malignant foe [Note: Eph 4:8.]; and has left his people nothing but to triumph over a vanquished enemy [Note: Joh 16:11.].
Here then is Gods gracious answer to his peoples fears. Are you asking, Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered? Yes, the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with them that contend with thee, and I will save thy children. What more than this can any soul desire? for, is not God able to deliver? or will he falsify his word? Hath he said, and will he not do it? hath he spoken, and will he not make it good?
But he further promises, that,]
2.
He will glorify himself in their salvation
[The deliverance of his people from Babylon, and their restoration to their own land, was an event that excited the astonishment of all the surrounding nations: They saw, and could not but acknowledge, that he was their Saviour and Redeemer, even the Mighty One of Jacob. His own glory also will he display in the deliverance of his desponding people, as soon as ever they simply and believingly commit their cause to him. In fact, there is not in the whole universe a more striking monument of Gods power than a redeemed soul. He is a new creation [Note: 2Co 5:17. Eph 2:10.]. And, if it be said, He is still weak; true, he is so: but he is a worm threshing the mountains [Note: Isa 41:14-16.]; and Gods strength shall be perfected in his weakness [Note: 2Co 12:9.], and shall carry him on, though in the midst of the most potent enemies, from strength to strength, till he shall finally appear before his God in Zion [Note: Psa 84:7.]. To whatever circumstances he may be reduced by the assaults of men or devils, the Lord Jesus Christ will make them only a more conspicuous occasion for the display of his own grace, which shall surely be sufficient for all who trust in it, and shall constrain even their enemies themselves to acknowledge that the power which supports them is divine [Note: Dan 3:28; Dan 6:25-27.].]
Here then we see,
1.
What extremes we are to avoid
[In the concerns of our souls, we should stand at an equal distance from presumption and despondency. It surely can never be right for persons, corrupt as we are, to presume upon salvation, as though it were a blessing easy to be attained. We are in a state of bondage to sin and Satan (To this our whole lives bear witness.) The power of our adversary is such as no human being has within himself an ability to withstand (His victory over our first parents in Paradise is proof enough of this.) Nor, considering how willing servants we have been to the destroyer, have we any just cause to expect the interposition of Jehovah in our behalf. Are we then to be secure and careless, as if we were in no danger? If the righteous scarcely be saved, shall we be as much at our ease, as if no effort were necessary to counteract the designs of Satan, and to rescue ourselves from his dominion? No verily: we must not be high-minded, but fear.
On the other hand, shall we, because of these difficulties and dangers, give way to a desponding frame? Shall we forget that there is a Saviour, who is both able and willing to deliver us? Justly does God reprove such folly and ingratitude: Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my God? Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding [Note: Isa 40:27-28.]. To entertain such thoughts, is greatly to dishonour God, whose tenderness and fidelity infinitely exceed all that ever existed in a mothers bosom towards her infant offspring [Note: ver. 1116]. Whatever therefore be our difficulties or our dangers, we should confide in Him who has undertaken for us that we shall take those captive whose captives we were, and shall rule over our oppressors [Note: Isa 14:2.].]
2.
What is that happy medium which it becomes us to observe
[The proper medium is, not to lessen either our fears or our hopes; but to call them forth into united and simultaneous exercise. Instead of attempting to lessen our sense of danger, it is desirable to have it augmented a hundred-fold: because then we shall feel the deeper need of Gods help, and be the more earnest in our prayers to him for it. So again, instead of lowering our expectations from God, we should endeavour to have them also greatly enlarged; because we shall then honour him the more, and go forth with tenfold energy to fight the good fight of faith. This is that union, which, whilst it humbles the sinner, will exalt the Saviour, and lead us, like the heavenly hosts, to fall on our faces before him, at the very time that we are glorying in his salvation [Note: Rev 5:8.]. This is a point which is never fully understood, but by experience. Those who have never known it by experience, are ready to imagine, that a deep sense of guilt and helplessness will produce discouragement; and that an assured confidence in God will foster pride. But, if both be combined, as they ought to be, in our hearts, we shall possess that most desirable of all attainments, a childlike spirit [Note: Mar 10:15.]. Nothing servile will remain. The fear that has torment will be swallowed up in love [Note: Joh 4:18.], whilst that which flows from love will be in full activity. We shall rejoice evermore in the God of our salvation; but shall rejoice with trembling [Note: Psa 2:11.]; not boasting as if we had put off our armour, but girding it upon us for fresh encounters, till we have accomplished our warfare, and are crowned with everlasting victory.]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
The greatness of the blessings promised in this Chapter, being so wonderful in themselves, and so much beyond all possible expectation to the people, who were to be made happy in the possession of them, might well excite surprise, and occasion doubts how, and by what means, they should be fulfilled. If the subject be considered spiritually, both Jew and Gentile were, by nature and by practice, the lawful captives to sin and Satan; how then shall they be liberated? Poor sinners can neither purchase their freedom by price, nor by power. The Lord can only solve the difficulty: Jesus is their Redeemer, and he will accomplish the liberation of his redeemed by both. See those sweet scriptures which show the way, and when you have duly pondered the blissful subject, recollect that the whole is for the glory of Jehovah, as the whole is accomplished by himself; Isa 45:13 ; 1Pe 1:18-19 ; Heb 2:14 ; Rev 5:9 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Isa 49:24 Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered?
Ver. 24. Shall the prey be taken from the mighty? ] Not unless he be out matched and over mastered. The heathens were wont to ask, Who can wring a club out of Hercules’s hand, or a lightening bolt out of Jove’s? The captive Jews here seem to ask, Who can deliver us from the Babylonians, who have both might and right for them? for we are their lawful captives, and we see not how we can be set at liberty. Thus they thought at least, if they spoke not as much, not looking at all to the power and faithfulness of God, sed ad praesentium rerum spectra, ac hostium potentiam. Those that look downward on the rushing and roaring streams of miseries and troubles which run so swiftly under them, shall be sure to be taken with a giddiness, &c., but such as steadfastly fasten on the power and promise of God all-sufficient, shall be established.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Isa 49:24-26
24Can the prey be taken from the mighty man,
Or the captives of a tyrant be rescued?
25Surely, thus says the LORD,
Even the captives of the mighty man will be taken away,
And the prey of the tyrant will be rescued;
For I will contend with the one who contends with you,
And I will save your sons.
26I will feed your oppressors with their own flesh,
And they will become drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine;
And all flesh will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior
And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
Isa 49:24-26 These verses are metaphorical of a second exodus experience. God is delivering His people again from powerful world empires. It is significant that God’s purpose in this deliverance, like His first deliverance, is not only that His covenant people might go free but that all nations will know Him (cf. Isa 49:26 c; Isa 45:6; Mal 1:11).
Isa 49:24 b
NASB, NRSV,
NJBa tyrant
NKJVthe righteous
REBthe ruthless
JPSOAvictor
The translation followed by NKJV is found in the MT, but the others from the DSS, Syriac, and Vulgate.
1. righteous –
2. tyrant –
Isa 49:25 For I will contend This is court scene imagery. Possibly its use in Jer 50:34 sheds light on this verse.
YHWH/Servant has changed from Prosecutor to Advocate!
Isa 49:26 d Notice again the powerful titles for the Deity of Israel (cf. Isa 41:14; Isa 43:14; Isa 44:6; Isa 44:24; Isa 47:4; Isa 48:17; Isa 49:7; Isa 49:26; Isa 54:5; Isa 54:8; Isa 59:20; Isa 60:16; Isa 63:16).
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
the prey. Reference to Pentateuch (Num 31:11, Num 31:12, Num 31:26, Num 31:27, Num 31:32). Occurs elsewhere only in the next verse and Psa 22:15.
mighty = a mighty one (singular) Hebrew. gibbor. App-14.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Isa 49:24. Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered?
Yes, this shall happen when God makes bare his arm, and stretches it forth to rescue his captive people.
Isa 49:25-26. But thus saith the LORD, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children. And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with sweet wine: and all flesh shall know that I the LORD am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.
This is the promise of Christ to his Church, both the Jewish and the gentile Church. He will deliver her from all her afflictions and distresses, and her enemies shall feed upon their own flesh, or, they shall be overthrown by mutual enmities. As it was, of old when those that were confederate against Israel suddenly fell to quarreling, and slew each other, so is it, sooner or later, in the battle between truth and error. By-and-by, there is a split in the adversaries camp, and they devour one another. Let any wrong thing alone, and it will break in pieces of itself. All real and abiding cohesion is gone when men seek to be united against the Lord, and against his Anointed. They shall confute one another, or they shall eat their own words, and so they shall, as it were, feed upon their own flesh.
This exposition consisted of readings from Isa 49:24-26; Isaiah , 50.
Fuente: Spurgeon’s Verse Expositions of the Bible
Isa 49:24-26
Isa 49:24-26
“Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive be delivered? But thus saith Jehovah, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered; for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children. And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with sweet wine: and all flesh shall know that I, Jehovah, am thy Saviour, and thy Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”
Here is God’s dogmatic promise to deliver Israel from Babylonian captivity. He will feed the captors with their own flesh, and make them drunk with their own blood. This language seems to be metaphorical with the meaning, “Not that the Babylonians would literally resort to cannibalism, but that they would destroy themselves through war and internal strife.”
It will be remembered that Cyrus’ siege of Babylon went on for quite a long time before Babylon was captured; and Rawlinson explains how this prophecy was fulfilled during that interval:
“The prophecy meant that disunion would break the power of Babylon and render her an easy prey to the Persians. Recently discovered inscriptions clearly show that this was the case. Nabonidus had alienated the affection of his subjects by changes in the religion of the country, and during the course of the war with Cyrus, many Babylonian tribes went over to the invaders and fought against their own countrymen (from the Cylinder of Nabonidus).”
Despite the application of these last two verses to the breaking of Babylonian power and the delivery of the captives, there is a much more universal prophecy here of the ultimate victory of the New Israel, the Church of our Lord, over a more powerful enemy than Babylon, namely, Satan himself. As Clarke accurately stated:
“These last two verses contain a glorious promise of deliverance to the persecuted Church of Christ from the “terrible one,” Satan, and all his representatives and vicegerents, and persecuting anti-Christian rulers. They shall at last cease from persecuting the Church of God, and destroy one another.
Isa 49:24-26 SPECTACLE: Zion is not yet convinced. If Zion is taken captive by the mighty (gibbor) one (Babylon) how is it possible that she shall ever see kings and queens coming to her in humble service? The lawful captives are, in Hebrew, the tsadiyk or righteous captives. They are righteous compared to Babylon. The righteous are Jews essentially non-warlike as compared to unrighteous Babylon. It was historically unheard of that a nation taken from its homeland into exile by such self-serving empires as Babylon should ever reappear again in its own homeland. Jehovah predicts that Zion shall not only be returned to her homeland but her enemies shall serve her. Incredible as it may seem, Zion is going to be delivered from her mighty and terrible enemy. These verses apply to the return of the Jews from Babylonian exile at the decree of Cyrus the Persian. This is a prelude to the signal to the goim of Isa 49:22-23 and their becoming foster-parents to Zion (the church). Zion needs first to believe that Jehovah will deliver her from Babylonian captivity. This is the first obstacle in the way to the formation of a remnant which will in turn perpetuate the true Zion through the centuries until the King of Zion appears. So God says, I will make war upon those who contend with Zion. This is one of the fundamental warnings of the Bible; Leave Gods people alone-do not harm them-for He is jealous for them. Whoever would attack the people of God attacks God! God even holds the world responsible for standing aloof when His people are being set upon (cf. Isa 49:10-14). All God has to do is give pagan empires up to their own paganism and they turn on one another and bite and devour one another (cf. Rom 1:24-32). The history of the unbelieving world of human governments is one long tale of war, tyranny, destruction and politico-socio cannibalism. Man, in his perverse rebellion against God, goes on devouring himself! It is a matter of history that when Cyrus took up the conquest of Babylon some of the satrapies of the Babylonian empire revolted and fought with the Persians against their former rulers. Isaiahs prediction came to pass specifically and generally.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Shall: Eze 37:3, Eze 37:11
prey: Isa 42:22, Isa 53:12, Psa 124:6, Psa 124:7, Psa 126:1-3, Mat 12:29, Luk 11:21, Luk 11:22
lawful captive: Heb. captivity of the just, Ezr 9:9, Ezr 9:13, Neh 9:33, Neh 9:37, Jer 25:6-9, Jer 25:11-14
Reciprocal: Lev 25:10 – proclaim Jdg 5:12 – lead Isa 5:29 – lay hold Isa 40:10 – with strong hand Isa 61:1 – to proclaim Jer 15:21 – deliver Jer 31:11 – redeemed Jer 50:33 – and all Mic 2:13 – breaker Nah 2:13 – I will cut Mar 3:27 – General Mar 5:15 – him that Luk 4:18 – to preach deliverance Luk 8:35 – and found Joh 8:36 – General Joh 12:31 – now Joh 16:11 – the Act 26:18 – and from Col 1:13 – delivered Col 2:15 – having Rev 20:2 – he laid
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Isa 49:24-26. Shall the prey be taken from the mighty Here an objection is started against the forementioned promises, probably, 1st, Against the promise of the release of the Jews from their captivity in Babylon, suggesting that it was a thing not to be expected: for, Isa 49:24, they were a prey in the hands of the mighty, of such as were then the greatest potentates of the earth; and, therefore, it was not likely they should be rescued by force; yet that was not all, they were lawful captives. By the law of God, having offended, they were justly delivered into captivity. And by the law of nations, being taken in war, they were justly detained in captivity till they should be ransomed or exchanged. So here was a double, or rather, treble impediment to their deliverance; the great power of the enemy, which kept them in bondage, and the justice of God, and the usage of nations, which pleaded against them. And yet their deliverance, however improbable, was effected by the mercy and power of God. But this passage, as appears from the context, has a further reference: it respects the deliverance of Gods church and people from their spiritual as well as temporal enemies. God had promised very great and excellent things to his church; but to a person seriously considering the state thereof, and comparing it with the power of his enemies, and particularly its chief enemy, Satan, who held the nations in the darkness of ignorance and superstition, a doubt would naturally arise, whether it could possibly be that this prey, so long possessed by Satan, could be rescued from him, so that he might be driven from his strong fort, and the rulers of the world, held in subjection by him, might be delivered from their servitude. Isaiah resolves this doubt of the church, and teaches that it should certainly come to pass that Satan, this mighty one, should be driven from his fort, his captives delivered, (Isa 49:25,) and the adversaries of the church perish by their mutual slaughter of each other. Thus Vitringa, who observes that Isa 49:26, I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh, &c., is to be understood metaphorically, and refers to the intestine wars, by which princes and people, armed to their mutual destruction, plunge their destroying swords in each others bowels, and, as it were, feed upon each others flesh and blood. See Isa 9:20; Zec 11:9; Rev 16:6. They shall be drunken with their own blood as with new wine I will make thine enemies destroy one another, and that greedily, and with delight. This prophecy was remarkably fulfilled in the time of the Roman emperor, Dioclesian, to which it is thought by some particularly to refer.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
49:24 Shall the prey be {d} taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered?
(d) He makes this as an objection as though the Chaldeans were strong, and had them in just possession.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Isaiah addressed an objection that some in his audience evidently entertained. Is it possible that Yahweh could really overturn the power of the mighty nations that scattered the Israelites and kept them from their land? Of course! God had already rescued Israel from one mighty man at the Exodus. Typically, mighty men and tyrants tenaciously cling to their prey and captives.
The Masoretic Text presents the tyrants as righteous. If accurate, the meaning would be: "Can a captor who has every right to his captives be deprived of them?" The answer (Isa 49:25) would be: "The Lord will do what is right to redeem His people as well as exercise His power to do so."