Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 65:25
The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust [shall be] the serpent’s meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD.
25. A last feature of the new earth is the peace which shall reign in the animal world. See on ch. Isa 11:6-9, from which this verse is quoted. The second and fourth lines are cited literally from Isa 11:7; Isa 11:9, the first is a condensation of Isa 11:6-7 a. The only clause not represented in the original passage is the third line: and dust shall be the serpent’s meat an allusion to Gen 3:14. Duhm, partly on metrical grounds, rejects these words as a gloss.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The wolf and the lamb shall feed together – (See the notes at Isa. 11.)
And the lion shall eat straw – Shall eat hay or provender like the ox. The food of the lion now is flesh. Changes shall take place as great as if his nature were changed, and he should graze with the herds of the field. See a full illustration of this sentiment from the classic writors in the notes at Isa 11:6.
Like the bullock – Or the ox – the cattle that herd together – for so the Hebrew word ( baqar) means. The word may be app ied to a bullock, an ox, or a cow.
And dust shall be the serpents meat – There is evidently here an allusion to the sentence pronounced on the serpent in Gen 3:14. The meaning of the declaration here is, probably, that dust should continue to be the food of the serpent. The sentence on him should be perpetual. He should not be injurious to man – either by tempting him again, or by the venom of his fangs. The state of security would be as great under the Messiah as if the most deadly and poisonous kinds of reptiles should become wholly innoxious, and should not attempt to prey upon people. It is to be remembered that many of the serpent kind included under the general word used here ( nachash), were dangerous to people; and indeed a large portion of them are deadly in their bite. But in future times there will be a state of security as great as if the whole serpent tribe were innocuous and should live on the dust alone. There can be no doubt that the prophet means here to describe the passions and evil propensities of people, which have a strong resemblance to the ferocity of the wolf, or the lion, and the deadly poison of the serpent, and to say that those passions would be subdued, and that peace and concord would prevail on the earth (see the notes at Isa 11:8).
They shall not hurt nor destroy – See this explained in the notes at Isa 11:9. All this is partially realized wherever the gospel prevails, but it will be more fully realized when that gospel shall exert its full power and shall be spread around the world.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 25. The wolf and the lamb, c.] The glorious salvation which Jesus Christ procures is for men, and for men only: fallen spirits must still abide under the curse: “He took not on him the nature of angels, but the seed of Abraham.”
Shall feed together] For keechad, as one, an ancient MS. has yachdav, together the usual word, to the same sense, but very different in the letters. The Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate seem to agree with the MSS. – L.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
This verse containeth a promise much like that Isa 11:6,9, and relates to the ceasing of persecution. The people of God for their whiteness and innocency are often compared to lambs and sheep, wicked men to wolves and lions, for their antipathy to the seed of the woman: God here promiseth to take off the fierceness of the spirits of his peoples enemies, so that they shall live quietly and peaceably together. Wicked men are compared to serpents, Mic 7:17, compared with Psa 72:9; God promiseth a time of tranquillity to his church under the metaphor of serpents eating the dust, their proper meat, Gen 3:14, instead of flying upon men: it signifies such a time when wicked men should mind their proper business, and not make it their work to eat up the people of God like bread. For the last phrase, see Isa 11:9, what is there noted. But will some say, When shall these things be? The Scripture gives us no record of any such period of time yet past. And it is very probable that this is a promise yet to be fulfilled, and it is not for us to know the times and seasons, but in the mean time to let our faith and patience be seen. In the mean time, we may learn that it is Gods work to restrain the wolves and serpents of the world, who would else be always doing what they are sometimes doing; and it is a sad sign that God is not yet at peace with that people, where we see wolves devouring lambs, and serpents destroying men instead of licking up dust, nor well-pleased with that part of his holy mountain where there is nothing but hurting and destroying, biting and devouring one another. When God shall be at peace with a people, these things shall not be found amongst them.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
25. (See on Isa11:6).
and the lion shall eat strawlike the bullock(See on Isa11:7).
and dustrather, “butdust,” c. The curse shall remain on the serpent[HORSLEY], (Gen 3:14Mic 7:17). “To lick thedust” is figurative of the utter and perpetual degradationof Satan and his emissaries (Isa 49:23;Psa 72:9). Satan fellself-tempted; therefore no atonement was contrived for him, asthere was for man, who fell by his temptation (Jdg 1:6;Joh 8:44). From his peculiarconnection with the earth and man, it has been conjectured that theexciting cause of his rebellion was God’s declaration that humannature was to be raised into union with the Godhead; this was “thetruth” concerning the person of the Son of God which “heabode not in”; it galled his pride that a lower race was to beraised to that which he had aspired to (1Ti3:6). How exultingly he might say, when man fell through him,”God would raise manhood into union with Himself; Ihave brought it down below the beasts by sin!” At that verymoment and spot he was told that the seed of the abhorred race, man,should bruise his head (1Jo 3:8).He was raised up for this, to show forth God’s glory (Exo 9:16;Rom 9:17). In his unfallen statehe may have been God’s vicegerent over the earth and the animalkingdom before man: this will account for his assuming the form of aserpent (Ge 3:1). Man succeededto that office (Gen 2:19; Gen 2:20),but forfeited it by sin, whence Satan became “prince of thisworld”; Jesus Christ supplants the usurper, and as “Son ofman” regains the lost inheritance (Ps8:4-8). The steps in Satan’s overthrow are these: he is cast out,first, from heaven (Re12:7-9) on earth; next, he is bound a thousand years (Rev 20:2;Rev 20:3); finally, he is castinto the lake of fire for ever (Re20:10).
the serpent’s meat(Seeon Isa 11:8).
They shall not hurt nordestroy in all my holy mountain(See on Isa11:9).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
The wolf and the lamb shall feed together,…. Or, “as one” k: as if they were one, of the same kind and nature, and lived upon the same food. The people of God are comparable to lambs, for their harmlessness and innocence; and wicked men to wolves, for their fierceness and cruelty; but, by the grace of God, the latter become as mild and as gentle as the former, and live upon the same spiritual food, and join with them in attendance on the word and ordinances, where they find spiritual refreshment and comfort together; such who have been persecutors of the church shall now become members of it; and many instances of this kind, as there were in the first times of the Gospel, so there shall be in the latter day:
and the lions shall eat straw like the bullock, or “ox”; to which creature the ministers of the Gospel are compared for their laboriousness, as wicked persecutors are to lions; and sometimes the latter have been so changed by the grace of God, as to become preachers of it, as Saul was, and very probably many will hereafter; however, there will be no persecution of the church after those days; wolves and lions will have their nature changed, and be in fellowship with the saints, and be better employed than before in persecuting them:
and dust shall be the serpent’s meat; the meat of the old serpent, the devil, as was threatened, Ge 3:14 to which he shall now be confined; he shall not be able to bite the saints, being bruised under their feet; he shall only have power over carnal, worldly, earthly minded men; and shall not be able to give the church any trouble, by instigating men to persecute it:
they shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord; that is, Satan and his emissaries; wicked men, comparable to lions and wolves, shall no more drink the blood of the saints, or persecute the church of God; after the calling of the Jews, and the bringing in the fulness of the Gentiles, and the destruction of antichrist, there will be no more persecution of the church of Christ, the mountain of God’s holiness; he has said it, and we may be assured of the truth of it; [See comments on Isa 11:9].
(This verse may also apply to the Millenial state, in which the effects of the curse on the animals is to be removed. However, from this verse it seems that the curse on snakes is permanent. Editor.)
k “sicut unus”, Montanus, Musculus, Gataker.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
And all around will peace and harmony prevail, even in the animal world itself. “Wolf and lamb then feed together, and the lion eats chopped straw like the ox, and the serpent-dust is its bread. They will neither do harm not destroy in all my holy mountain, saith Jehovah.” We have frequently observed within chapters 40-66 (last of all at Isa 65:12, cf., Isa 66:4), how the prophet repeats entire passages from the earlier portion of his prophecies almost word for word. Here he repeats Isa 11:6-9 with a compendious abridgment. Isa 65:25 refers to the animals just as it does there. But whilst this custom of self-repetition favours the unity of authorship, for = una , which only occurs elsewhere in Ezra and Ecclesiastes (answering to the Chaldee ), might be adduced as evidence of the opposite. The only thing that is new in the picture as here reproduced, is what is said of the serpent. This will no longer watch for human life, but will content itself with the food assigned it in Gen 3:14. It still continues to wriggle in the dust, but without doing injury to man. The words affirm nothing more than this, although Stier’s method of exposition gets more out, or rather puts more in. The assertion of those who regard the prophet speaking here as one later than Isaiah, viz., that Isa 65:25 is only attached quite loosely to what precedes, is unjust and untrue. The description of the new age closes here, as in chapter 11, with the peace of the world of nature, which stands throughout chapters 40-66 in the closest reciprocal relation to man, just as it did in chapters 1-39. If we follow Hahn, and change the animals into men by simply allegorizing, we just throw our exposition back to a standpoint that has been long passed by. But to what part of the history of salvation are we to look for a place for the fulfilment of such prophecies as these of the state of peace prevailing in nature around the church, except in the millennium? A prophet was certainly no fanatic, so that we could say, these are beautiful dreams. And if, what is certainly true, his prophecies are not intended to be interpreted according to the letter, but according to the spirit of the letter; the letter is the sheath of the spirit, as Luther calls it, and we must not give out as the spirit of the letter what is nothing more than a quid-pro-quo of the letter. The prophet here promises a new age, in which the patriarchal measure of human life will return, in which death will no more break off the life that is just beginning to bloom, and in which the war of man with the animal world will be exchanged for peace without danger. And when is all this to occur? Certainly not in the blessed life beyond the grave, to which it would be both absurd and impossible to refer these promises, since they presuppose a continued mixture of sinners with the righteous, and merely a limitation of the power of death, not its utter destruction. But when then? This question ought to be answered by the anti-millenarians. They throw back the interpretation of prophecy to a stage, in which commentators were in the habit of lowering the concrete substance of the prophecies into mere doctrinal loci communes . They take refuge behind the enigmatical character of the Apocalypse, without acknowledging that what the Apocalypse predicts under the definite form of the millennium is the substance of all prophecy, and that no interpretation of prophecy on sound principles is any longer possible from the standpoint of an orthodox antichiliasm, inasmuch as the antichiliasts twist the word in the mouths of the prophets, and through their perversion of Scripture shake the foundation of all doctrines, every one of which rests upon the simple interpretation of the words of revelation. But one objection may be made to the supposition, that the prophet is here depicting the state of things in the millennium; viz., that this description is preceded by an account of the creation of a new heaven and a new earth. The prophet appears, therefore, to refer to that Jerusalem, which is represented in the Apocalypse as coming down from heaven to earth after the transformation of the globe. But to this it may be replied, that the Old Testament prophet was not yet able to distinguish from one another the things which the author of the Apocalypse separates into distinct periods. From the Old Testament point of view generally, nothing was known of a state of blessedness beyond the grave. Hades lay beyond this present life; and nothing was known of a heaven in which men were blessed. Around the throne of God in heaven there were angels and not men. And, indeed, until the risen Saviour ascended to heaven, heaven itself was not open to men, and therefore there was no heavenly Jerusalem whose descent to earth could be anticipated then. Consequently in the prophecies of the Old Testament the eschatological idea of the new Cosmos does unquestionably coincide with the millennium. It is only in the New Testament that the new creation intervenes as a party-wall between this life and the life beyond; whereas the Old Testament prophecy brings down the new creation itself into the present life, and knows nothing of any Jerusalem of the blessed life to come, as distinct from the new Jerusalem of the millennium. We shall meet with a still further illustration in chapter 66 of this Old Testament custom of reducing the things of the life to come within the limits of this present world.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
25. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together. He means that everything shall be fully restored, when Christ shall reign. And here it appears as if there were an implied comparison between Adam and Christ. We know that all the afflictions of the present life flowed from the sin of the first man; for at that time we were deprived of the dominion and sovereignty which God had given to man (Gen 1:28) over animals of every kind, all of which at first undoubtedly bowed cheerfully to the dominion of man, and were obedient to his will; but now the most of them rise up against man, and even carly on mutual war against each other. Thus, when wolves, bears, lions, and other savage animals of that kind, are hurtful to man and to other beasts from which we obtain some advantage, and when even animals which ought to have been useful to man are hostile to him, this ought to be imputed to his sin, because his disobedience overthrew the order of things. But since it is the office of Christ to bring back everything to its condition and order, that is the reason why he declares that the confusion or ruin that now exists in human affairs shall be removed by the coming of Christ; because at that time, corruptions having been taken away, the world shall return to its first origin.
And the lion shall eat straw like the ox. “The lion” shall eat harmlessly, and shall no longer seek his prey. The serpent, satisfied with his dust, shall wrap himself in it, and shall no longer hurt by his envenomed bite. In a word, all that is disordered or confused shall be restored to its proper order. Yet beyond all controversy the Prophet speaks allegorically of bloody and violent men, whose cruel and savage nature shall be subdued, when they submit to the yoke of Christ. But first we must carefully consider that confusion which befell all the creatures in consequence of the fall of man; for if this were not taken into view, it would be impossible for us to have sufficiently just and correct views of this blessing of restoration. At the same time, we must keep in remembrance what we said in expounding a similar allegory in the eleventh chapter. (216) Here we are taught what is the nature of men before the Lord convert them and receive them into his fold; for they are cruel and untamed beasts, and only begin to abstain from doing any injury, when the Lord subdues their wicked inclination and their furious desire to do harm.
In all my holy mountain. This is added because, when rubbish and filth have been taken out of the way, the Lord will gather to himself a Church without spot. By the word all he means cleansing. Yet we ought not to think it strange that still so many are ferocious; for there are few that are the true inhabitants of God’s mountain, few that are upright and faithful, even among those who profess to be Christians. Seeing that the old man still reigns and is vigorous in them, contentions and wars must also exist and prevail amongst them.
(216) Commentary on Isaiah, vol. 1, p. 383.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(25) The wolf and the lamb . . .The words point to what have been called the discords in the harmony of Nature, the pain and death involved, of necessity, in the relation of one whole class of animals to another. In St. Pauls language, the whole creation groaneth and travaileth together (Rom. 8:22). In the new heaven and the new earth of the prophets vision there would be no such discords. The flesh-eating beasts should change their nature; even the serpent, named, probably, with special reference to Genesis 3, as the starting-point of the discords, shall find food in the dust in which he crawls, and shall be no longer a destroyer. The condition of the ideal Paradise should be restored. The picture finds a parallel, perhaps a replica, in Virgil, Eel. 4. Do the poet and the prophet stand on the same footing? or may we look for a literal fulfilment of the words of the one, though not of the other? The answer must be given in words that are wary and few. We dare not, on the one hand, fix times and seasons, or press the letter of prophetic visions as demanding a fulfilment. On the other, the permanence of Israel as a people suggests the possibility of a restored Jerusalem, and modern theories of evolution point to the gradual elimination of the fiercer animals as part of the conquests of humanity.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
25. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together Here is an allusion to Isa 11:6-7; Isa 11:9, there connected with the vision of Immanuel, here connected with Isaiah’s closing prophetic message. Here the figures are abridged in number, but they bear a similar, indeed identical, meaning in both, as to the moral state of the world intended in the description in both places. Herein are links binding together the two great sections of a one great prophetic system by one and the same great prophet.
And dust shall be the serpent’s meat This is a unique addition to the passage in chap.
11, It alludes to the two main features of the earliest promise the gift of the Seed of the woman and the sentence upon the old serpent. Gen 3:14-15. The allegory has this meaning: While all untamed natures among human souls blend together in harmony and peace under Messiah’s rule, the primeval curse shall rest with ever-increasing weight upon Satan figured as a serpent and he become at length completely vanquished, wriggling powerless and harmless, biting only the dust on which he helplessly affects to crawl.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Isa 65:25. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together The meaning is, that the church at this time shall be free from all internal and external enemies: the wolves and lions, mystically so called, being either destroyed by the power of God, or, they who formerly were such being softened and changed by the grace of the divine Spirit: so that though they were able to hurt, they shall no longer be willing to do so. See chap. Isa 11:6-9. The phrase, Dust shall be the serpent’s meat, seems immediately to allude to the sentence passed upon the old serpent, Gen 3:14 which, Isaiah tells us, shall be fulfilled at the period here alluded to; when the devil shall no longer be able to hurt the church, but shall be reduced to the most abject, groveling, and despicable state. So it is said, Mic 7:17 of the enemies of the church, that they shall lick the dust like a serpent: what, therefore, is magnificently foretold in the 91st psalm, of the subjection of Satan to Jesus Christ and his church, and which was formerly fulfilled in Christ, shall at this time be fulfilled in the whole body of the church. See chap. Isa 40:10 Isa 49:24. The Son of God came into the world to destroy the works of the devil; Rom 16:20. 1Jn 3:8. These will be the illustrious consequences of the creation of the new heavens and the new earth. Indeed, to bestow such blessings on the church, is, in the language of prophesy, truly to create new heavens and a new earth. God Almighty render us worthy, and grant us speedily the completion, of these glorious promises! See Vitringa.
REFLECTIONS.1st, The application of these words to the conversion of the Gentiles, and the rejection of the Jews, is fixed by an infallible expositor, Rom 10:20-21.
1. The Gentiles, by divine grace and mercy, are brought into the Christian church; and this not only when they had no desert, but in general, when the Gospel was first offered to them, no desire after God. He sent his ministers among them, calling to them to behold him, his Son, his Gospel, when they had no thoughts about this great salvation, nor stood, as the Jews, in any near relation to him as a people; but they were not disobedient to the heavenly vision; when he called, they answered; when he drew them, they sought him early; Act 13:42-48. Note; (1.) If God did not first seek us, we should never have inquired after him. (2.) When he is graciously manifesting himself in mercy to us, it becomes us to seek him earnestly in all his appointed ways.
2. The Jews for their impenitence and rebellion are rejected by him. With long patience God bore with them; by a variety of means and methods he had sought to reclaim them; after sending all his prophets, he last of all sent his Son; yet vain was every attempt of Christ and his apostles, inviting them by every endearing plea to turn from the evil of their ways; they obstinately persisted in their own inventions, seeking to establish a legal righteousness, and, riveted in their pride and prejudices to the ceremonial institutions, rejected the counsel of God against themselves. Their fathers’ sin had been gross and impious idolatry, forsaking God for stocks and stones, and leaving his temple and altar for groves and altars of their own erecting, where they burnt incense, and offered sacrifices to their idols; and this openly without a blush, as if wilfully designing to provoke God to his face, by their daring impiety, and contempt of his service; addicted to necromancy, and among the graves and monuments consulting the dead, or the evil spirits that were supposed to haunt those melancholy abodes; paying no regard to the distinctions of clean and unclean ordained by the law, but eating swine’s flesh, and broth of abominable things. Now these iniquities of their fathers, whose measure they filled up, God would visit upon them; for, though the Jews of our Saviour’s day were cured of their idolatries, yet their pride and hypocrisy were yet more detestable; which say, Stand by thyself; come not near to me, for I am holier than thou; so high in their own conceits, and so holy, that they looked down with contempt on others, and thought defilement was contracted even by their touch. These are a smoke in my nose, offensive and loathsome; a fire that burneth all the day; a continual provocation, against which his indignation and wrath burned like fire. For these abominations God will plead with them, and with just judgment recompense them for their iniquities; and all the former sins should come into the dreadful account, and be required of the men of that generation, Luk 11:51. Note; (1.) Sooner or later God will visit for sin, and woe to the soul on whom the vengeance due to it shall be laid! (2.) Nothing is in God’s sight more odious than a sinner vaunting his own holiness, and proudly looking down with contempt on others. (3.) Though vengeance may be long delayed, it will surely come at last, when the measure of the sinner’s iniquity is full.
2nd, Though the generality of the Jewish people were rejected for their unbelief and rebellion, there was yet a remnant which would accept of the offers of grace.
1. This is represented by a cluster of grapes, hanging on a blighted vine, which the dresser of the vineyard, seeing it in general withered, is ready to cut down; but the master stays his hand for the sake of that one cluster, and because it shews also that there still is life, and the tree may again revive. Destroy it not, for a blessing is in it.
2. God promises, not only, for his servants’ sake, not to destroy them all, but to bring a seed out of Jacob and out of Judah, to inherit his holy mountain, the church; and mine elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there, enjoying all the ordinances, and enriched with all spiritual gifts and graces, as the flocks and herds which fed in the green pastures of Sharon and Achor; which was fulfilled in the multitude of those Jewish converts called by the preaching of the apostles, who were also themselves all of the flock of Judah or Benjamin, and by whose labours the spiritual seed of Jacob throughout the world was so exceedingly increased. Note; (1.) Those who are termed in Scripture the elect of God are known by their earnestness in seeking God, and their fidelity in serving him. (2.) None ever sought God in truth, but found him their exceeding great reward.
3rdly, The body of the Jewish people persisted in their impiety and infidelity: to these God now addresses himself.
1. They are upbraided with their sins.
[1.] Apostacy from God and his service. Ye are they that forsake the Lord, that forget my holy mountain; they rejected his government, and neglected his worship. Note; They who forsake the Lord forsake their own mercies.
[2.] Idolatry. That prepare a table for that troop, and that furnish the drink-offering unto that number; their idols so multiplied, and yet so liberally supplied with offerings, while God’s altar was utterly neglected. Some suppose the words Gad and Meni, rendered by troop and number, to be the names of their idols, and to signify the sun and moon. Note; Men, to gratify their lusts, grudge no expence; and shall we then be niggards in the service of the Lord?
[3.] Obstinate impenitence. The former more properly were their fathers sins, though to be visited upon them as a nation; this was the especial guilt of the Jews in our Saviour’s day. When I called, ye did not answer; when I spake, ye did not hear: nay, though he became incarnate in his own glorious person, to preach and teach the way of life, they rejected his words and warnings, contradicting and blaspheming; but did evil before mine eyes, following determinedly the imaginations of their own evil hearts, and adding to all the rest that daring consummation of their evil, the crucifying the Lord of life and glory: and did choose that wherein I delighted not, the traditions of the elders, and those false glories which destroyed the spirit of God’s word; and shewed that pride, hypocrisy, and enmity against the Gospel, which were so peculiarly provoking to him.
2. Their punishment is denounced. I will number you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter; and dreadful was the massacre which the Roman soldiers made of them. Note; When God fights against the sinner, resistance is vain, for he will overcome.
3. The blessedness of God’s people, as contrasted with their misery, will aggravate their doom. Note; It will be an additional torment to the miseries of the damned, to see the righteous in the kingdom of God, and themselves cast out. This is instanced in three particulars.
[1.] The one shall be consumed with famine and want, the other enjoy plenty and affluence, which was literally the case, when the Christians, before the siege of Jerusalem, removed to Pella; while the Jews, who were besieged, terribly perished by famine. And also spiritually, those who reject Christ and his Gospel, and seek to fill themselves with the comforts of earth, will ever be unsatisfied here, and in hell want a drop of water to assuage their raging thirst; while his faithful people, who feed upon him in his promises, find the hidden manna sweet and nourishing to their souls, and drink of those consolations which are better than wine; and these but foretastes of the provision that God hath made for them in the eternal world, where they shall hunger no more, nor thirst any more, the most boundless desires of their souls being satisfied in the fruition of God.
[2.] God’s servants shall rejoice and sing, when his enemies are ashamed, and with anguish cry out in their pangs. The paths of heavenly wisdom are full of present peace and joy; the paths of sin all lead to shame and misery. And how much greater still will the difference appear, when these shall be rejoicing in glory, and joining the songs of angels, while the sinner is covered with everlasting confusion, and gnawing his tongue for pain, in those eternal torments where the worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
[3.] The one shall be detested and infamous, the other honourable and distinguished. Hence the Jews are become peculiarly stigmatized; but God’s people have a new and honourable name, Christians, or Hephzibah and Beulah, intimating the Lord’s love and delight in them: That he who blesseth himself in the earth, who looks for God’s blessing, or thankfully acknowledges the mercies received from him, shall bless himself in the God of truth, as the pious servants of God ever do, esteeming God as their great portion, and expecting from him all their mercies: or, shall bless themselves in God, Amen; in Jesus Christ, who is the Amen, the faithful and true witness. Rev 3:14. And he that sweareth in the earth, which is an act of religious worship, shall swear by the God of truth, to whom alone the solemn appeal ought to be made; because the former troubles are forgotten, and because they are hid from my eyes; either the idolatry and superstition of the Gentile world, which were a grief to God’s people, but at this time shall be rooted out; or the carnal ordinances, which were a heavy yoke, and were by Christ’s sacrifice abolished; and this sense seems best to suit the following words.
4thly, We see,
1. A new creation rise at God’s command, new heavens expanded, a new earth framed, and these so glorious, that they obliterate the remembrance of the former; which some refer to the Gospel-day, when such a wondrous change should be wrought in the hearts of men, that it should be said, Old things are past away; behold all things are become new, 2Co 5:17. Others suppose this will be fulfilled during the latter days’ glory of the church; others, again, not till after the dissolution of all things, and that Christ will then come, and not before, and reign with his saints upon earth a thousand years; and to this they conceive the apostles to refer, Rev 21:1-5. 2Pe 3:13 whilst others look farther, and interpret this of the state and blessedness of the saints of God in glory everlasting.
2. This will give occasion of everlasting joy to faithful souls. But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create, as partakers of the blessed change which the Gospel works, and inheritors of the eternal glory that God bestows. For behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy; with such consolation shall the church and every member of it be filled, and all her friends rejoice with and over her, because of her prosperity. The voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her; there shall be no allay or interruption of her joys, but they shall be constant and full, like the source from whence they flow.
3. God himself will rejoice in his own work. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people, when, through the infinite merit of Jesus, and the effectual work of the divine Spirit, they shall be wholly renewed in body, soul, and spirit, and become the blessed objects of God’s full complacence.
4. In this blessed state there shall be no untimely deaths, as now when we see the infant carried almost from the womb to the grave; and few, even of those who are aged, reach the full limits appointed to the life of man: the contrary to which many pious commentators suppose will literally be the case in the latter day, when, among other instances of temporal blessings, long life shall be enjoyed. But the words may be also taken in a spiritual sense, as intimating that the youngest convert who departs, shall be raised in the fulness of the measure of the stature of Christ, as if he had lived a hundred years; and those whose lives have been longer spent in Christ’s service shall have their full reward in glory; while the sinner, to whatever extent God lengthens out his days, will be accursed at the last. Note; (1.) We need not grieve for early converts snatched away by death; they are happily entered into their rest, and the space taken from the labours of time, shall be added to the rewards of eternity. (2.) An aged saint is a venerable object, an aged sinner the most pitiable and deplorable. (3.) However long God’s patience bears with the sinner, his curse will overtake him at last.
5. Their possessions shall not be precarious, nor their enjoyments interrupted. The houses they build, the vine-yards they plant, no enemy shall possess, nor spoiler destroy; but these pious souls shall long, peaceably, and comfortably enjoy the blessings which their God bestows upon them: for as the days of a tree, are the days of my people; as the days of an oak, which lives for ages.
6. Their children after them shall inherit their blessings. They shall not labour in vain, but see the blessing of God upon all the work of their hands: nor bring forth for trouble; their children shall be their comfort, not their sorrow: for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with them: their mercies descend to their posterity, together interested in the same Gospel covenant, and prevented and followed with the blessings of divine goodness.
7. A wondrous change shall pass upon the tempers of men. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together; Gentiles and Jews shall now become one fold, and men of the most savage dispositions be brought to the meekness of the lamb: and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock; ravening persecutors not only brought to be men of peace, but laborious ministers, as in the case of Paul and others: and dust shall be the serpent’s meat; the sentence pronounced on the devil, Gen 3:14 and, in him, on all the enemies of God’s church and people, shall be fulfilled; they shall be trodden under the feet of God’s victorious saints. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, but their power be utterly broken, and themselves ruined, saith the Lord, whose word is faithful, and the accomplishment of it sure.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Such will be, and must be, the eventful blessed circumstance induced in the heart of every one, on whom a saving change hath been wrought by the glorious gospel of Jesus, that all, in whom the Spirit of Christ is, will live in the Spirit, and walk in the Spirit. The minds of men will be changed, and the power of Satan will be so lessened, that the most uncouth and rugged tempers, like the savage natures of the wolf and the lion, will be softened to the gentleness of the lamb; and God’s holy mountain, his Zion shall both fill the earth, and become the blessing of the earth; and none shall any longer hurt or destroy, for Christ shall reign and rule forever. Rev 21:3-4 .
REFLECTIONS
READER! let us pass by all lesser considerations, to attend, with heart-felt joy, to the many precious things said in this Chapter, concerning Christ and his Church: for surely every promise here is, richer and more valuable than a pearl, and all the gold of Ophir.
And, first, may God the Holy Ghost, who hath given such blessed views of the Lord Jesus, give us grace to behold, and take home to our own hearts, what is said of and by the Lord Jesus, that our meditation of Him may be sweet. And let us not fail, while hearing Christ, in such repeated endearments of character, crying out, Behold me! Behold me! so to look up, and indeed behold him, as to be saved by him! For surely, such repeated calls to behold Christ, must argue a dead heart if we regard them not. God the Father hath commanded it, Behold! (he saith) my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth! God the Holy Ghost saith also, by his servant John the Baptist: Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. And the Lord Jesus himself; with reiterated invitations of grace, enjoins the same, when he saith, Behold me. Behold one! Reader! what are your apprehensions and views of these things? Isa 42 ; Joh 1:29 .
When we have duly pondered over the subject, as it concerns Jesus, and our knowledge and enjoyment of him, let us next consider the many gracious calls and promises given to the Church in Jesus, in this chapter, as it concerns the Church. And oh! for grace here also to receive every promise, and to act faith upon all God’s coven ant promises in Christ as the sure earnest of the Spirit in the heart. Never, surely, was there a more blessed cluster of promises brought together, for the Church continually to feast upon, than what the Holy Ghost hath set before us in this Chapter. Let us see to it, my brother, that we accept them in this point of view, and remember, that they are not yea and nay, but of God in Christ are all yea and amen; certain, unquestionable, and sure. Lord, I would say, both for myself and Reader, cause them to be all yea and amen; to thy glory and our exceeding great joy in Christ Jesus forever.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Isa 65:25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust [shall be] the serpent’s meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD.
Ver. 25. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together. ] Heb., As one. a See Isa 11:6 . There shall be a holy harmony of hearts, and all good agreement among Christ’s subjects, when they come to heaven especially.
And dust shall be the serpent’s meat.] He shall be held in to his first condemnation. Gen 3:14 The devil also, that old serpent, shall be limited to the heel of the saints; the head he shall not touch; he shall be tied up to his own meat – viz., that unquenchable fire prepared for him and his angels from the beginning.
They shall not hurt, &c.
a Antipathiam in sympathiam convertent. – A Lapide.
wolf, &c. As in Isa 11:6, Isa 11:7, Isa 11:9, which is Millennial, not eternal.
together = as one. Hebrew ‘echad. Same word as “one” in Deu 6:4, i.e. one of others. Occurs in former part of Isaiah (Isa 4:1; Isa 5:10; Isa 6:2, Isa 6:6; Isa 9:14; Isa 10:17; Isa 19:18, &c.); and, in the latter part (Isa 47:9; Isa 51:2, &c.) See App-79.
dust. Never was the serpent’s food. It is used as a powerful Figure of Speech, or Idiom, as in Psa 72:9 Compare Pro 20:17.
the serpent’s, &c. = as for the serpent, dust shall be his food: i.e. the Old Serpent (Rev 20:2), who brought in all the sin and misery to the world and to Israel, will then be bound (Rev 20:1-3), and he will lick the dust, the symbol of his humiliation, disappointment, and defeat. Referring to the Figures of speech used in Gen 3:14. See App-19.
in all My holy mountain. See note on Isa 11:9.
wolf: Isa 11:6-9, Isa 35:9, Act 9:1, Act 9:19-21, 1Co 6:9-11, Tit 3:3-7
dust: Gen 3:14, Gen 3:15, Rom 16:20, Rev 12:7-9, Rev 20:2, Rev 20:3
shall not: Isa 2:4, Isa 11:9, Mic 4:3
my: Isa 65:11, Eze 43:11, Zec 8:3, Zec 14:20, Zec 14:21, Rev 14:1
Reciprocal: Gen 7:9 – General Lev 11:42 – goeth upon the belly Deu 32:24 – serpents Job 5:22 – afraid Psa 119:25 – soul Isa 27:1 – crooked Isa 57:13 – my holy Isa 66:20 – my holy Hos 2:18 – will I Mic 7:17 – lick Act 10:12 – General Rev 12:9 – that
Isa 65:25. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together Concerning the metaphorical sense of these expressions see chap. 11:7, and 35:9. But since the renovation here spoken of extends to the whole creation, the words may imply the correcting the noxious qualities of fierce or venomous creatures.
65:25 The {c} wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox: and dust [shall be] the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD.
(c) Read Isa 11:6 .
Another cause of present weeping that will end is nature, which is sometimes harmful. In the future, it will not be harmful because the effects of the Fall will have been erased. Nature will no longer be man’s enemy. The Lord’s curse on the snake, which has only been fulfilled figuratively so far-snakes do not literally feed on dust now but on plants and animals-will find complete fulfillment (cf. Gen 3:14). Chisholm believed that Isaiah was not alluding to Gen 3:14 here but was simply using the serpent as another illustration of an animal that formerly posed a danger but would not in the future. [Note: Chisholm, A Theology . . ., pp. 337-38, and Handbok on . . ., p. 136. See also the note on this verse in The NET (New English Translation) Bible.] This verse is a hint that the change will come because of the "seed of the woman" described earlier in Isaiah as the Servant, Messiah (cf. Isa 11:6-9).
"The only point in the whole of the new creation where there is no change (cf. Isa 65:20 fg [sic]) is in the curse pronounced on sin, which still stands (cf. Gen 3:14)." [Note: Motyer, p. 531.]
No evil or harm will come to anyone or anything in all God’s holy kingdom (cf. Isa 66:22). Watts interpreted this change as indicating only the absence of violence that would follow the Jews’ return to their land after the Exile. [Note: Watts, Isaiah 34-66, p. 355.] However, this is hardly the picture of life in Jerusalem and Judah that the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah paint.
"But to what part of the history of salvation are we to look for a place for the fulfillment of such prophecies as these of the state of peace prevailing in nature around the church, except in the millennium?" [Note: Delitzsch, 2:491-92.]
Delitzsch believed in an earthly Millennium. He distinguished himself from "anti-millenarians" and "antichiliasts." [Note: Ibid., 2:492.] But he also believed that some of the prophecies regarding Israel’s future blessings have found fulfillment in the church, whereas some will yet find fulfillment in Israel.
Isaiah revealed several new things for Jerusalem in this section. Joy would replace weeping and crying (Isa 65:18-19). Longevity would replace sorrow and death (Isa 65:20-23). Answered prayer would replace God’s previous silence (Isa 65:24). And universal peace would replace violence (Isa 65:25). [Note: Dyer, in The Old . . ., p. 585.]
The kingdom in view in this passage, and in chapter 66, is not just the millennial kingdom. It is the kingdom that God will bring into existence through the redemptive work of His Servant. Since the King has come, some features of this kingdom are present in the world today. But since the King has yet to come to accomplish fully His work of redemption, many features described here will be seen after His second advent. Part of these changes will take place on this earth during the Millennium. Other changes will happen when the Lord creates completely new heavens and a new earth (Rev 21:1). How do we know that all that Isaiah predicted is not fulfilled in the present age through the church, or in the Millennium, or in the eternal state? The New Testament provides a more specific description of which of these promises will be fulfilled when and in what ways.
"The prophet appears, therefore, to refer to that Jerusalem, which is represented in the Apocalypse as coming down from heaven to earth after the transformation of the globe. But to this it may be replied, that the Old Testament prophet was not yet able to distinguish from one another the things which the author of the Apocalypse separates into distinct periods." [Note: Delitzsch, 2:492-93.]
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)